USWNT drops to No. 3 after early World Cup exit

Sweden has ended the United States' six-year reign atop the FIFA women's soccer world rankings.

No. 1 since June 2017, the Americans also dropped out of the top two spots for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2003.

The U.S. women's national team fell to No. 3 behind the Swedes and World Cup champion Spain in the rankings released on Friday.

Coming off back-to-back World Cup championships, the USWNT was knocked out by Sweden in the Round of 16 last month.

The USWNT parted ways with head coach Vlato Andonovski following its worst-ever performance in a World Cup.

Sweden, which ranked third before the World Cup, ascended to the top of the rankings for the first time after winning the bronze in Australia.

Spain climbed from sixth to second after beating England 1-0 for its first World Cup title earlier this month. England held at No. 4, and France did the same at No. 5.

The rest of the top 10 features Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Brazil and Canada. World Cup co-host Australia fell one place to 11th after a fourth-place finish. Morocco made the biggest jump, rising 14 spots to No. 58.