USMNT Crashes to Rock Bottom as World Rankings Plummet in Shocking Collapse
Following the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach for the U.S. men's national team, expectations were high that he could transform the squad into a legitimate contender for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
However, with nine months remaining before the tournament begins, those aspirations have yet to materialize, as the team finds itself experiencing one of its most challenging periods in recent memory, suffering defeats in seven of 17 games since his arrival. Additionally, the USMNT has dropped seven of their past eight contests against nations ranked in the top 30.
After a 2–0 defeat to South Korea over the weekend, the USMNT hit a new low—sitting at 49th globally according to ELO rankings, marking their worst position since 2000.
The ELO ranking system serves as an alternative to FIFA's official men's World Ranking and receives frequent updates. This methodology was developed by Hungarian-American mathematician Arpad Elo for evaluating chess competitors and has since been adapted for various sports, including football.
The system emphasizes recent performance data and head-to-head statistics, earning recognition as a more precise indicator of current form compared to official rankings.
At the time of Pochettino's appointment, the U.S. held 37th position globally, coming off a defeat to Canada. During the USMNT's trophy-winning campaign at the 2023 Concacaf Nations League, their rating peaked at 18th.
The U.S. previously entered the top 15 following their victory over Portugal during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, and reached ninth place in 2009 after defeating Spain at the Confederations Cup. Under former head coach Gregg Berhalter, the USMNT achieved a peak ranking of 15th.
The rankings have also reflected significant setbacks for the U.S., including a drop to 32nd after missing qualification for the 2018 World Cup and falling to 37th following their group stage elimination at the 2024 Copa América, which resulted in Berhalter's departure.
The decline under Pochettino's tenure has been swift, pushing the U.S. toward the edge of the top 50—a threshold they haven't crossed since May 28, 1995, when they fell 2–1 to Costa Rica in a friendly match.
Among Concacaf nations, the U.S. currently ranks fifth in ELO ratings, trailing Mexico at 16th, Canada at 29th, Panama at 35th, and Costa Rica at 48th.
In contrast, FIFA's official rankings currently position the U.S. at 15th, though they're expected to drop to at least 16th following the South Korea loss.
However, those standings won't be Pochettino and the USMNT's primary concern as they focus ahead, hoping to secure a crucial victory against Japan, currently 13th in ELO rankings, in Columbus this Tuesday.
"We must begin winning when the World Cup commences," Pochettino stated following the South Korea defeat.
"[There are] numerous instances of teams that dominated for five years [prior to the tournament] and then reached the World Cup unprepared. I experienced this in 2002 with Argentina—we had been victorious for years, yet at the World Cup, we were eliminated in the group phase."