The group stage at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is winding down. With teams already punching their tickets into the knockout stage and some battling to get there in their final group match, FOX Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas shared his second batch of power rankings for the tournament on Monday evening.
The second stage of group play featured even more exciting action than the opening stage, causing Lalas to jumble his rankings a bit. The biggest riser was Sweden, which moved up four spots following its win over Italy. France also joined the top 10 after being unranked in the first version of the in-tournament power rankings.
The United States fell one spot to No. 5 after its 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.
“This is just a snapshot,” Lalas said of his rankings before explaining how he was convinced by a fellow FOX Sports soccer analyst to place Canada in the 10th spot instead of Nigeria.
“I can be lobbied,” Lalas said. “I can be swayed. I am, despite reports, an actual human being and with a passionate plea, I can be moved. That’s what Karina LeBlanc, a famous Canadian, did in the green room when we arrived this morning. I was so moved that I put Canada into the No. 10 position.”
That said, here are Lalas’s top 10 teams in the World Cup so far, along with each squads’ record to this point.
1. Japan (3-0-0): Japan dominated Group C, finishing off with a stunning 4-0 throttling of fellow heavyweight Spain to take the group’s top spot.
2. Sweden (2-0-0): The Swedes punished a solid Italy team after defeating South Africa, 2-1, and currently hold a healthy lead atop Group G.
3. Spain (2-0-1): Spain endured a stunning beatdown against Japan in its Group C finale after looking like arguably the best team in the tournament in outscoring opponents 8-0 over its first two games. That was still enough to get the squad through to the knockout stage.
2. Germany (1-0-1): Despite Colombia‘s monumental upset over Germany, the Germans still hold a healthy goal differential and seem poised to advance thanks to its earlier 6-0 win over Morocco.
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5. United States (1-1-0): The Americans struggled in the first half of the 2019 World Cup final rematch against the Dutch but closed out strong to earn a 1-1 draw. The favorite entering the tournament still control its own destiny entering Tuesday’s match against Portugal.
6. France (1-1-0): The French bounced back following a surprising opening match draw to Jamaica, beating Brazil 2-1. France leads Group F.
7. Brazil (1-0-1): Brazil fell several spots following its loss to France. But it won its opening match against Panama, 4-0, meaning it can advance and continue Marta‘s last World Cup dance if it beats Jamaica.
8. England (2-0-0): The Lionesses fall two spots after their 1-0 win over Denmark. Even though the English have won both matches by just one goal each, they sit atop Group D and control their own destiny heading into Tuesday’s group-stage finale against China.
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9. Colombia (2-0-0): Perhaps the biggest upset of this year’s tournament came in Columbia’s dramatic last-minute header off a corner kick to top heavyweight Germany, 2-1. Now, breakout star Linda Caicedo and Co. lead Group H and seem poised to enter the knockout stage.
Netherlands (1-1-0): The Netherlands kept up more in its battle against the USA this time than it did four years ago. It remains in the nine-spot, which it held following its 1-0 win over Portugal.
10. Australia (2-0-1): Perhaps much more impressive than the host Matildas simply advancing to the group stage is the fact that they won Group B without star striker and captain Sam Kerr playing, dispatching Canada, 4-0, in the group stage finale.
[Related: FOX Sports Insider Martin Rogers‘ Women’s World Cup power rankings]
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