The United States women’s national team ended the year as No. 1 in the FIFA rankings.
Emma Hayes’ team won gold at the Paris Olympics to mark its turnaround in form after its reign as world champion ended last year and Spain established itself as the dominant force in women’s soccer.
The U.S.’s triumph in France — beating Brazil 1-0 in the final — saw it climb four places to top the FIFA rankings in August. And it maintained top spot in the final rankings of the year, which were released Friday.
World champion Spain was top at the start of the year, but dropped to third after losing the bronze medal match at the Olympics. It is up to second in the latest rankings.
European champion England is down to fourth from second. Olympic bronze medal winner Germany is third.
The U.S. has dominated women’s soccer, winning four World Cups and five Olympic golds.
But was eliminated in the round of 16 from last year’s World Cup when knocked out by Sweden.
Hayes, who won 15 major trophies with Chelsea, including seven Women’s Super League titles, took over as U.S. coach in May and quickly delivered a tournament triumph at the Paris Games.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
