USA is at it's highest rank ever in FIFA standings

[SECTION 11]

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2563440

The United States advanced to an all-time high No. 7 in FIFA's rankings Wednesday while Greece jumped 21 spots to No. 14 after its dazzling run to the European Championship title.

Brazil remained No. 1 for the 25th straight month, and France and Spain stayed at second and third.

The United States twice had climbed as high as eighth - in September 2002 and again in May. The Americans beat Grenada in a home-and-home series in June to reach the semifinals of World Cup qualifying in its region of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Greece was ranked as low as 59th as recently as March 2002. It climbed "possibly the greatest ever number of places in the upper reaches of the ranking," soccer's governing body said.

Its 1-0 victory over Portugal on Sunday in the Euro 2004 final gave Greece its first major title.

The rankings are a computer calculation of the relative strength of national teams based on results the previous eight years.

The Czech Republic, which lost to Greece in the Euro 2004 semifinals, advanced seven spots to fourth. Germany, which did not win a game at Euro 2004, dropped to 12th, tied with Portugal.

The Netherlands, which reached the Euro semis, remained fifth while Mexico dropped two places to sixth.

England, beaten by Portugal in the Euro quarters, returned to the top 10 after a two-month absence. The English moved up five places to eighth and were followed by Italy and Turkey.

Argentina, which had gone winless in three games before a 2-1 victory over Peru on July 1, dropped six places to 11th.

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[wembley88]

Scared to ask where Scotland are. Mid 60's and heading south? On a par with mighty Leichtenstein no doubt.

Would never have believed you guys are no7. Happy with that as long as you stop trying to get our beloved rules changed. It's like us saying hey guys this NFL thing isnt catching on over here, how about making it 5 yards you need to advances every 4 downs etc etc!

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

Hey Wembley, what time does American football air in Scottland? What's the most liked football team out there?

 

[wembley88]

Hey Wembley, what time does American football air in Scottland? What's the most liked football team out there?

Early games 6pm, late games 9pm, your late game 1Am i think, by which time i'm asleep dreaming of Kiera Knightley.

The sport burst onto the scene over here when one of the major stations picked it up in the 80's. It was the Raiders v Redskings superbowl.

I'd say in terms of fan base it's the usual suspects. Raiders and Redskins because of when people over here started to get into the sport generally. Packers, 49ers, Cowboys, Giants.

As a result, while we get 2 games per week, it gets monotonous. Even if we were 6-2 say, and the 49ers at 2-6 were playing the cowboys at 1-7, they'd show that game. very frustrating.

Mind you we havent been 6-2 so how do i know!

 

[abomb]

Early games 6pm, late games 9pm, your late game 1Am i think, by which time i'm asleep dreaming of Kiera Knightley.

Good to know Cardinal fans share the same dreams, regardless of continent.

A-Bomb

 

[Card Trader]

For Christ's sake, I know Cardinal news is slow but can we keep this trash in a different forum? Garbage sports forum maybe??

 

[SECTION 11]

For Christ's sake, I know Cardinal news is slow but can we keep this trash in a different forum? Garbage sports forum maybe??

I Googled "Waa" and got this... So, there ya go.

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[CaptTurbo]

I told u all if not the next world cup then the one after and then possibly every single one after that.

 

[wembley88]

I told u all if not the next world cup then the one after and then possibly every single one after that.

I'll swim the atlantic if you win two in a row in the next 10 years.

 

[SECTION 11]

I'll swim the atlantic if you win two in a row in the next 10 years.

That's a nice 100th post right there.

 

[wembley88]

That's a nice 100th post right there.

100 posts and not one telling contribution.

 

[SECTION 11]

100 posts and not one telling contribution.

The fact that there's a Cardinal fan in Scotland is in itself a telling contribution!

 

[Djaughe]

I can't believe the U.S. is ranked higher than Argentina.....staggering....

 

[Duckjake]

Communist kickball.....

Dribble, pass, dribble, pass, dribble, kick the ball out of bounds, throw the ball inbounds, dribble, pass, dribble, pass, kick the ball out of bounds. OK game over. No wait, the game's not really over there's still some "injury" time left. Dribble, pass, dribble, pass, kick the ball out of bounds.

Didn't the Detroit Pistons just win the American Soccer Championship?

 

[CaptTurbo]

I'll swim the atlantic if you win two in a row in the next 10 years.

Ill buy the snorkel buddy!

 

[Crimson Warrior]

We've got a world cup qualifier coming up this weekend against El Salvador or one of those poor central American countries.

Nothing like thrashing a third-world nation to make you feel like a super power!

 

[Zeno]

We've got a world cup qualifier coming up this weekend against El Salvador or one of those poor central American countries.

Nothing like thrashing a third-world nation to make you feel like a super power!

No we have a friendly against Poland in Chicago this weekend. Our next World Cup qualifier isn't until August against Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz aren't that bad of a side and are always tough at home. The class of the competition won't be until later when Costa Rica and Mexico are the opponents.

We may have our minnows but so does everywhere else in the world. Its not our fault we are the best team in our Federation.

As for our #7 ranking, its a joke, the fact that Mexico is #6 is an even bigger joke. We are a legitimate #10-15 range world soccer power who can hang with just about anybody outside of Brazil on a neutral field. The rankings period are silly, most countries don't pay much attention to them.

 

[CaptTurbo]

No we have a friendly against Poland in Chicago this weekend. Our next World Cup qualifier isn't until August against Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz aren't that bad of a side and are always tough at home. The class of the competition won't be until later when Costa Rica and Mexico are the opponents.

We may have our minnows but so does everywhere else in the world. Its not our fault we are the best team in our Federation.

As for our #7 ranking, its a joke, the fact that Mexico is #6 is an even bigger joke. We are a legitimate #10-15 range world soccer power who can hang with just about anybody outside of Brazil on a neutral field. The rankings period are silly, most countries don't pay much attention to them.

I dont see how 7 is a joke when we were in the final 4 last cup. We should be #4 or higher with our good showing against germany.

 

[Zeno]

I dont see how 7 is a joke when we were in the final 4 last cup. We should be #4 or higher with our good showing against germany.

We were in the last 8 not the last 4. We should have been in the last 4, we outplayed Germany in that game.

The rankings period are a joke, how can a team like Greece who really played exceptional defense and opportunistic offense be out of the top 10 after what they accomplished in Euro 2004? The Greeks may have been the most well coached team I've ever seen in a major championship. Their combination of man marking and zonal defense gave every opponent they face fits.

Don't take those rankings as much more than stuff for the press to talk about, like I said before most soccer going nations just do not care.