U.S. finishes year 14th in world soccer rankings

Juergen Klinsmann’s U.S. national soccer team will finish the year ranked 14th in the world, according to the latest FIFA team rankings released Thursday.

That’s 14 places higher than the Americans ranked a year ago and it’s the team’s best year-end ranking since 2009, when it was also 14th.

Klinsmann’s team, which won the Gold Cup and finished atop the table in regional World Cup qualifying, won a U.S.-record 16 games in 2014.

There was no movement among the world’s top 18 teams in the FIFA rankings, with Spain remaining No. 1 followed by Germany, Argentina, Colombia and Portugal. Germany and Portugal were drawn into the same four-nation group with the U.S. for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

The only team among the world’s top 32 to gain ground was Bosnia and Herzegovina, which moved up two places to 19. France and Mexico each fell a spot, to 20 and 21, respectively.

In the women’s rankings, released last week, the U.S. remains No. 1 ahead of Germany and Japan. The American women have been ranked first in every survey since February 2008.

Mexico is 25th in the women’s rankings.

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