and of course loote you think you are the only intelligent one here. ======================================== hahahahahahahha................... wah kya dialogue maara, hai mein marr jaawaan. bidhan mere bhai, aaja gale lag jaa *HUGS*. eklai paayo bhanera peldine yar arkalai tsk tsk......hehe...mula bhidhane :P as i said, i don't follow US soccer because i m not their freat fan. and i have never said that your argument is completely wrong. i was just not ready to buy it. ali ali bargain garna khojya kya...if you know what i am saying...hehe. but hey tyo sum-off ko mom le bargain garya jato chahin haina ni....hahahaha here is what i got abt fifa ranking from wikipedia ========================================== The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in football (soccer). The teams of FIFA member nations are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. A point system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of matches played in FIFA-recognized international competitions. Under the existing system, rankings are based on a team's performance over the last eight years, with more recent results being more heavily weighted to help reflect the current competitive state of a team. Teams delivering consistently good performances tend to be more highly ranked, and the system currently in use is somewhat slow to respond to significant changes in a team's performance. =========================================== so last eight years result are kept in record for the ranking..i dont know how US has been performing for the last 8 yrs hai. In 1999, FIFA updated the ranking critria: -Scaling up the point ranking by a factor of ten -Changing the calculation to take into account: a) Number of goals b) Home or away match c)Importance of match/competition d) Regional strength -Not having fixed points for a victory or a draw -Allowing the match losers to earn points sub-points a, b, c and d pretty much justify how US might have earned those important points for standing at 5. I also got this information. After failing to qualify for nine straight tournaments beginning in 1954, US team has now qualified for five consecutive FIFA World Cup finals since 1990, a string that is surpassed only by Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain, and South Korea. The USA has had more men reach 100 caps (international appearances) than any other country, with nine to date. I still don't have information about their recent encounters though. Bidhan's best friend ;) Loote