USMNT climb in FIFA Men’s World Rankings as World Cup nears 

The US men’s national team now sits No. 14 in the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, climbing one spot after the June international window.

The update, released Thursday, comes after the US earned two solid friendly results against fellow World Cup-bound nations, beating Morocco 3-0 and battling Uruguay to a 0-0 draw. They also had two Concacaf Nations League games, beating Grenada 5-0 and drawing El Salvador 1-1. All but the El Salvador game were played on home soil.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter’s team has two more chances to climb the rankings before November’s World Cup, as they’ll face two World Cup-bound teams from Asia during the September international window: Japan on Sept. 23 and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 27. Both friendlies will be played in Europe.

The USMNT are drawn into Group B at the World Cup, where they’ll face England (No. 5), Wales (No. 19) and Iran (No. 23) in Qatar.

The Yanks are the second-highest team in Concacaf’s World Cup-bound quartet, sitting behind Mexico (No. 12) and ahead of Costa Rica (No. 34) and Canada (No. 43).