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That's similar to the US. I think a lot of it just comes down to the number of kids that grow up playing a sport i.e. the talent pool. In the US lots of kids tr
by aaavl2821 8y ago
That's similar to the US. I think a lot of it just comes down to the number of kids that grow up playing a sport i.e. the talent pool. In the US lots of kids try playing soccer but most focus more on baseball / basketball / football / hockey. Whereas in countries where soccer is the main sport the talent pool is larger and you have tons of talented kids who've been playing for two decades
- moorhosj 8y agoYet, the US dominates in women’s soccer. Maybe there are fewer options for them to play other sports (football specifically)?
- zhdc1 8y agoThe US actually has a fairly good men's national team. As weak as CONCACAF is, there's a reason why they've qualified for seven of the last eight World Cups - and why their tie with Trinidad and Tobago was so surprising.
- moorhosj 8y agoCurrently 25th in FIFA rankings (3rd in CONCACAF). Is there any other major men's sport where the US ranks outside the top 20 (maybe cricket)? - 15th in rugby https://www.worldrugby.org/rankings/mru?lang=en https://www.worldrugby.org/rankings/mru?lang=en - 6th in tennis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITF_Rankings#Men https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITF_Rankings#Men - 4th in hockey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IIHF_World_Ranking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IIHF_World_Ranking - 2nd in volleyball https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIVB_World_Rankings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIVB_World_Rankings
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoWhat we in the UK call hockey (field hockey) - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIH_World_Rankings https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIH_World_Rankings - USA women 7th, USA men not listed.
- moorhosj 8y agoYou are correct. I see them at 26th here - http://www.fih.ch/rankings/outdoor/ http://www.fih.ch/rankings/outdoor/ Another one would be handball, ranked 38th - http://www.ihf.info/en-us/thegame/rankingtable.aspx?month=7&year=2010&teamCatID=2 http://www.ihf.info/en-us/thegame/rankingtable.aspx?month=7&...
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoWhere is handball a major sport; I don't think I've ever seen it played in a match.
- ggg9990 8y agoThe number of women playing sports seriously is much higher in the US than in most other countries due to Title IX and cultural reasons.
- dragandj 8y agoAnother reason might be that in Europe soccer is considered a rather masculine sport. Very few girls even consider playing it. Girls usually play volleyball, handball, etc. but a girl that kicks the ball with a foot would be strangely looked at here. In the US, I hear, soccer is reasonably popular as a female sport, so the talenf pool is larger.
- bluedino 8y agoSoccer also doesn’t compete with football or basketball for girls like it does with boys