Does the US deserve to be so highly ranked?
362806
Well for starters, the US (as stated before) played HOME MATCHES against teams like Panama, Jamaica, the Bahamas, etc.  So its easy picken's for them.  Just look at their pathetic 1-0 win over Poland in germany (which i was at) and the terrible 1-1 draw AT Scotland.  They cannot play away a/g top Euro competition.  They get points from home games versus easy regional teams, thats it.  Its the FIFA system thats flawed.  They WILL NOT have a good world cup, i guarantee it, they should be ranked 15 at best.\n\nAnd by the way, the MLS doesnt "suck", its only 10 years old, give it some time.
481851
If the USA is so superior, then why are the people in Louisiana still not back on their feet? Why hasn't Bush stepped in the help those people? Why does the rest of the world come before his own country? To answer your question, the USA in not superior.
457456
Our top players can play with the best in the world, the place the US is lacking is the depth that countries like England, Italy and the Netherlands posess. If the US can stay healthy we can go a long way in this World Cup.
625487
Might makes right. And the US is the wealthiest and most militarily powerful nation at the moment, so the US gets to make the rules for everyone else.\n\nEspecially nations that have natural resources our largest industries/corporations want to control.
1104298
HECK YEAH, USA IS AWESOME
325811
They are now ranked #5 and it is their highest ranking to date.\n\nThey used to be ranked in the 70s behind island nations but now they have improved considerably.
600723
The US may be great, but it is not the only great nation. Many other nations are facing massive immigration influxes as well. France has Northern Africans coming in by the boat load. Italy has Albanians coming over. I could go on.
516555
Qualify 'greatest'.\n\nTrue, it has the 'greatest' economy (for now - soon to be overtaken by an expanding European Union and by China, maybe even India).\n\nTrue, it has the greatest military - so what, it still gets its ass whipped every time because it never learns that might doesn't make it right (Korea, Somalia, Vietnam and Indochina generally, Iraq, El Salvador - oh, it did win in little Haiti - but look at the mess it left there).\n\nTrue, it has the highest level of car ownership and its the World's biggest polluter and its the greatest consumer of the World's diminishing resources. \n\nTrue, its got the greatest gap between rich and poor and the largest population of a Western nation without access to healthcare.\n\nTrue, it has the greatest prison population - it locks up more of its citizens than any other developed country on Earth.\n\nTrue, it has the made the greatest mess of foreign policy of any responsible nation of the last 100 years.\n\nTrue, its the only country in the World to have deliberately nuked another - great! \n\nI think a lot of other places in the World have a much stronger claim to be the greatest nation. Some Americans would do well to open their eyes and ears and look beyond their noses. There is a better World out there and Americans are getting less and less of it - and when they do open their eyes enough to see somrthing better then they invade or violate it for their own selfish aims.\n\nCome on America, you were founded on better principles and you have fallen to a terrible low ebb. Please look around you.
467306
Simply put, no!\n\nRankings have come to prominence over the last couple of years but no-one really takes them seriously. It's difficult to say that a system that puts the USA in fourth just because they win more games that teams like Italy, England, Ukraine etc, whose qualifying competitions are always much harder due to the depth of European football.
470375
In general, the US would count as the nation with the most capable military.  However this does not mean that we are necessarily the best at everything.  For example the Russians are considered to be the world's experts in combat in extreme winter conditions.\n\nNow one thing you have to consider is that in balance to the size of our military there is the wide range of our military requirements.  For example the US Navy is operating all over the world.  Since we have worldwide national interests - whe have to be able to defend those interests.  (Or they become somebody else's.)
494815
What a silly solution.Accept your countries great achievements.This made america proud.Better to direct your thoughts to todayThen america was the envy of the world. Not so today
414645
No way, the USA is the greatest place in the world.  We are freedom's defenders.  We are the police of the world.  If there was no country, there would be no borders, no morals, and no civilization.  There would be annarchy and chaos and the world would be engulfed in the ultimate form of terrorism everywhere.
688598
Great is so vague and it depends on your preception of the word.  There are pros and cons to many countries, but I believe statistically, you will find that Norway and Switzerland come out on top as some of the 'greatest' countries in the world.  That is because they were rated on various positive attributes such as pollution level, crime, education, wealth, economy, healthcare, unemployment rate etc.  These are general quality of life type criteria.  Although there are some places in the US that receive high marks, the country in general, does not rank as highly.  Mostly because of the high crime, high pollution, healthcare system, etc.  So, I would guess that most people who say 'USA' immediately, have probably never traveled much outside of their country to look at it more objectively.
1095460
We do not all think we are the best.  I am no better than any other man or woman.  We all bleed the same.  And lets face it, Italy is going to kick the $hit out of the US soccer team. But there are vastly huge differences in the freedoms of the USA and other countries.  The USA has many different climates.  If you don't like a certain area, you just pack up and move. That's freedom.  This country was founded by protestants, but even if you are a Satan worshiper, your rights are protected under the US Constitution.  The reason 71% of Europe hates the US is because of one A$$ Clown! Our president.  He has made terrible decisions that have made the rest of the world hate us.  As Americans we have the right to make a change by voting, and believe me, the American people will make serious changes in our government in 2008.  Just give us some time.  The American people are not out to make enemies even though our government is.  Believe me the American people are just as pissed off at Bush as the rest of the world, but one of the things that makes this country so great is the ability of the people to change our government.  By no means does this make us better than anyone else in the world. It simply means that those who have the ability to change things have a responsibility to change things.
851550
Nope, In the USA, New York has the highest ranking with Georgia in 7th
1064836
I agree, USA ranked fifth on the world is a joke, who have they beat? and the championship that US organized, they end up inviting teams that are barely able to make it to the world cup.
460297
If you were to take a survey, probably yes. As one of the largest and most prosperous nations in the world the U.S.A. can easily become the target of people who view it as "large and evil" in a sort of David and Goliath fashion.\n\nMore recently President Bush's poor foreign relations and diplomacy have caused even former allies to have negative feelings about the U.S.A. \n\nSo, if you were to do a worldwide survey, you would probably find that the U.S.A. is the country with the most visible presence, and thus one of the most hated.