USWNT follows Olympic gold by reclaiming top spot in rankings after 12-month absence

ZURICH (AP) — The U.S. women’s soccer team returned to the top of the FIFA world rankings Friday after winning gold last weekend at the Paris Olympics.

Mallory Swanson’s goal helped secure the team its fifth Olympic gold medal — and the first since the 2012 London Games — by beating Brazil 1-0 in the final Saturday.

That lifted the Americans up from fifth and ended a 12-month absence from the top of the standings.

England moved up to second, ahead of Spain, Germany, Sweden and Canada.

Brazil climbed one spot to eighth.

The worst slide belonged to France, which dropped from second to 10th. The host nation had a poor performance in the group stage and was then eliminated by Brazil in the quarterfinals. It is the team’s lowest position in nearly five years.

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