Bottom line is that I'm not sure this team is as good as the hype from a year ago, and may not really be all that much better than past versions of the USWNT. And suggesting we should be top-10 in the world is a pipe dream right now.
I think this is a bit hyperbolic. I think there's still a BIG gap between where we are and the very top teams, but that list is a short list.
Here are the
current FIFA rankings where the US is 13th.
I don't think the likes of Croatia, Uruguay, or Morocco are any better than the US. The only team that would stand significantly ahead of the US ranked below them is Germany (and they've similarly struggled internationally lately despite having top talent).
And, I know FIFA rankings have to be taken with a grain of salt, so I also like to use
transfermarkt values to get a gauge of rosters and top level talent. It's not perfect either, but it's a good starting point. And having looked at this a good bit over the last few years, $20M is a good cutoff for quality players that have decent club impact.
When you click on Croatia and sort by highest values, they have 3 guys valued over $20M. They have an elite CB, but the rest of their team is definitely average/below average based on player values.
Uruguay has 4 guys over $20M. Now, granted 3 of those guys are top level values, but 2 of them are defensive players.
Meanwhile, the US has 7 guys at $20M or higher. And, more importantly, these guys are all significantly younger than these other nations ranked around them. Their trajectory is going in the opposite direction of these others.
We aren't anywhere near a France or England that has 17ish players valued higher than our highest player.
Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Spain, and Italy all have 10ish guys $40M+ with a couple elite players ($75M+).
But even when you look at teams like Belgium and Netherlands, their profile of values looks much closer to us than those countries with ridiculous riches of talent. And we aren't far from having the same.
So, all that to say, top 10 isn't a pipe dream at all. It's just that top 10 still isn't good enough. There's at least 2 tiers ahead despite being ranked 10th in the world. And there's a pretty big gap in those tiers.
I think it's reasonable to think the US COULD join that tier of Belgium/Netherlands/Italy/Spain in the next 3-4 years. Not that they will, but they really aren't THAT far off. We aren't going to be France or England anytime soon, but neither are most other countries. And, having that wealth of talent still doesn't guarantee anything at all. See England.
So, if we join that next tier, we would have a legit chance to win a major tournament even though things would have to go right, obviously. We are getting close to the point where we could have a legitimate chance of playing with and beating any team even if not favored. THAT is the biggest thing I see coming in the near future that we've never had, IMO.
