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United States falls to 23rd in FIFA world rankings

U.S. defender Omar Gonzalez looks on during a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Sept. 6, 2013.
(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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The U.S. fell six spots to No. 23 in the monthly FIFA world rankings released Thursday, the team’s lowest ranking in more than a year.

The top three spots in the poll remained unchanged with World Cup champion Germany No. 1, followed by Argentina and Colombia. Portugal was the only new addition to the top 10, jumping two spots to No. 9. Switzerland, meanwhile, fell two places to No. 12.

The U.S. is unbeaten since the World Cup, with a win over the Czech Republic and draws with World Cup qualifiers Ecuador and Honduras. But those matches were friendlies, meaning they didn’t count as heavily in the rankings formula.

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Mexico also fell, dropping one place to 17th.

The biggest movers among top 20 teams were Croatia, Algeria and Ukraine, who all improved five places to 14, 15 and 19, respectively. The biggest drop in the top 20 was by Greece, which fell four spots to No. 18, while no team in the top 25 fell further than the U.S.

The top 25:

1. Germany
2. Argentina
3. Colombia
4. Belgium
5. Netherlands
6. Brazil
7. France
8. Uruguay
9. Portugal
10. Spain
11. Italy
12. Switzerland
13. Chile
14. Croatia
15. Algeria
16. Costa Rica
17. Mexico
18. Greece
19. Ukraine
20. England
21. Romania
22. Czech Republic
23. U.S.
24. Slovakia
25. Ivory Coast

Follow Kevin Baxter on Twitter @kbaxter11

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