USA tops women's world rankings, but European nations close the gap

December 9 - Despite losing three of their last four matches, the USA women's team still top the FIFA World Rankings, although the gap between them and Germany, second, shrinks.

American women have held the top spot in the world rankings since 2017.

The Germans take second place ahead of Sweden, followed by England and France. Canada edged out Spain for sixth place.

European teams are increasingly dominating the standings although FIFA point out: "Italy (17th, down 3) did not have a happy end to the year, losing three places. On the other hand, Portugal (22nd, up 1) and the Republic of Ireland (23rd, up 1) ended 2022 on a high, reaching their best positions.

"Turkey (64th, up 3) made the biggest leap in terms of points (+10.23 pts) and Estonia (91st, up 5) were the strongest in terms of places. None team suffered a bigger fall in places than Montenegro (96th, minus 5)."

Six of the top 10 teams are European and all will be challengers for the Women's World Cup in 2023, looking to take the crown in the United States.

FIFA said 187 member associations made the December 2022 ranking, out of 211 in total, the highest number ever recorded at the end of a calendar year.

To see the full ranking, click here.

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