»Soccer World Cup is over. Germany wins, USA second«

Although the FIFA Women’s World Ranking first saw the light of day just three months ago, the lead has already changed hands: fresh from winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup with a flawless record of six victories and more than 20 goals, Germany (1st, up 2) now sit proudly on the throne of women’s football.

In terms of points gained, it was not the world title itself that made all the difference, but rather Prinz, Meinert et al’s 3-0 triumph over the USA in the semi-finals – a result that boosted the Germans’ points tally while severely hitting that of their American rivals. As expected, the Swedes have also gained ground, moving up one place to sit on the coattails of their Scandinavian neighbours from Norway.

Canada’s march to the semi-finals was not enough to secure a Top Ten place, as Even Pellerud’s charges only defeated one higher-ranked team (China PR). At the same time, Denmark and Italy successfully defended their positions among the ten elite teams with victories in European Championship qualifiers.

The teams in the Women’s World Ranking are evaluated on a number of factors, including match results, home advantage, the importance of a match and the strength of the opposition. The ranking is published four times per year.