After multiple mediocre performances against countries a fraction of America's size, the US men's soccer team fell three spots to 34th in the worldwide FIFA rankings.
As recently as April 2006, the US was No. 4. Wednesday's latest ranking represents the country's lowest mark since October 1997, when the Americans were 35th — their all-time low.
But FIFA's inscrutable ranking system rivals college football's in its complexity and accuracy, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Does the US' ranking fairly reflect its play, or are the Americans just hindered by a crazy system?
Both. FIFA's system favors wins against highly-ranked foes in qualifying matches and tournament games, which has worked against the US lately. Since last year's World Cup, the US only has played important matches in this summer's Gold Cup. The only top side there was Mexico, which defeated the US in the final.
Of course, it did not help that the US also fell to Panama in the Gold Cup. The Americans have since lost friendlies to Costa Rica, Belgium and Ecuador under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
With World Cup qualifying still months away, the only way for the US to rise much in the near future is to beat quality opponents in friendlies. The US has chances next month against France (15th) and Slovenia (27th).
Ultimately, what matters most is qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Since the ranking does not affect that, the recent slide is not the end of the world, even if the US is now ranked below Peru (32nd), which last played in the World Cup in 1982.
