Top 20 women's football teams in the world (all levels of play)

@luvdagame OK, because your not recruiting the typical crazies for back up, or simply shouting idiotic abuse at me, for daring to talk about the other quality teams besides the ones you like, let's break this whole lists critique down....

In my attempt to streamline the approach to selecting the worlds top teams..., focusing on the divisive/random criteria of mystique and overall (positive) fame, I think my top 6 is pretty simple to understand with the explanations I provided.

But if I was going to step back now and view things from another perspective, I can only think that Olympique Lyonnais of France would appear to be the highly dubious choice for most USwnt fans, as their the only club team on my list, playing amongst a relative scatter brain level of parity, compared to the more visible levels of fame national teams like the U.S.wnt can attain, amongst the elite of the international scene.

However, on factors such as mystique and fame, I would argue that the impact of Lyon's women, will likely carry far more historical significance, compared to the success of the U.S.wnt, all because of the massive role male club affiliation will play in the future of the sport, and Lyon's pioneering example of how it can work for women, trying to excel in nations dominated by the globes strongest male football cultures.

And it's with this backdrop of positive cultural and sporting progress, that Lyon's mystique and fame for me, will put them further ahead of many successful teams, in ways the success of the U.S.wnt hasn't, and likely never will reach.

So without making an increasingly large list that loses it's potency, who would you need to push out of my top 6 top just force in the U.S.wnt...? And with respect to the other teams, why would you even need to do that anyway...?

 

no need to force them in.

it's difficult to see how an "ever" list won't naturally position the uswnt ahead of china, scandinavian women's teams and others on your list.

 

How so...

When has any U.S.wnt held the kind of true mystique, seen with those 6 particular teams I mention...? It's always been pretty obvious as to why the U.S.wnt have been successful in the early years of FIFA regulated competition, and I struggle to think of one particular side they've produced, which has created the same amounts of head scratching, as the 6 sides I've picked out.

Fame is the only unquantifiable factor, the U.S.wnt ranks well on in such an odd list, and even then, outside of the ability to win the Olympics, or the massive domestic appeal of the WWC in '99, I would easily place the combined mystique and fame of Scandinavian women's football, above many things seen in this sport, while the short rise of China's women, should probably be even higher on my list in reality too, given the relative horror show for all the domestic structures of football in China...

Should Brazil's mystique and fame, attained via their awesome attacking display's from '03 - '08, see them replaced by any U.S.wnt.... Maybe successive German WC triumph's in the fashion they accomplished them, still has lesser combined mystique and fame of any one US.wnt..? Or Japan's group stage exit in 07's WC, followed by them relentlessly pissing the face of history, on route to 2011's jaw dropping win, needs to be replaced by any number of teams in the past 20+ years...

It's not a who's held the FIFA rank longest. It's a random thread titled Top 20 women's football teams in the world (all level of play), using the weird criteria of mystique and fame for a teams selection, which I've then chosen to strip down to a top 6 ever, and top 3 now. So come on, you tell me which one of my list deserves to be replaced by any other team in world, during any point in FIFA regulated history, on such random combined factors as the mystique and fame of football...?

 

i guess i'm just not as willing to include simple mediocrity and failure as greater in mystique and fame than consistent top performance.

 

People knowledgeable to the women's game, will probably care very little about the U.S.wnt in the years between WC's. And if they have a good wnt of their own to follow, I doubt even more that they'll be dumb enough to
care about comparing non competitive records, with one of the worlds only two professionally run wnt's too....

Again, it was Wps_Movement who selected the odd criteria for constructing a possible top 20 list, but is it so hard to understand how mystique and fame could also translate better to a majority of semi pro women's teams? All of which have easily contributed to some of the finest examples of the women's game over the past two decades, in a young niche sport globally, that's struggling to find a common ground for parity, on some of the most basic aspects of what we would typically associate with idea of world class professional sports.

Arguing the US.wnt holds more mystique over others, because they continue to pump out endless friendly match winning streaks, thanks to the rare social/economic benefits, of an outrageously progressive piece government legislation, still sounds a bit short sighted to me.

I mean, come on. Brazil as my #1 didn't even get to play any games outside of WC/Olympic qualification, but still produced teams that showcased attacking football no other women's side currently could hope to emulate, and yet luvdagame cries foul, believing my list only highlights mediocrity, due to it lacking teams with factors which makes the U.S.wnt more valid in this debate, such as.... "consistent top performance"....

So besides the vague global relevance of the U.S.wnt's fame, I don't see a distinctive but intangible quality, better than the levels of mystique attained by the far reaching achievements of the other names in my top 6...

 

And they'll be the most hated team in Canada. On top of that the Germans think they play thug football. You are confusing massive amounts of money going into their program vs love by the international football community. They ain't loved like you think.

 

I would have to agree with you on this one, newsouth!
We all know the current US team could be it's best one ever, but we don't really have to rub it in! It's bad enough that Wambach is becoming the most hated figure in women's soccer with her constant flapping or faking fouls, but there's no reason for the US to keep sending in it's A team to demolish other countries that are playing teams that are obviously in transition. Even Germany didn't bother to put their best foot down when they bombed against the US in the Algaeve Cup. If you observed more closely, they had their 2nd stringers in at defense.

Right now, the US should pull out Wambach, Morgan, Lloyd & Haliday, and play their B team instead in these friendlies. Even if they take a licking(which I really don't think they would) it would be good experience for them to loose game or two. Right now, as is with the complete A team, their heading the same path as the 2007 wc team; winning something like 60 straight games until they run into a strong team(when it really matters) like Brazil that kicked their butts in the semis cause the US had no idea anymore how to play in a close game.

NBC commentator, Kate Markgraf, made the keenest observations the other day when talking about Australia when she said(that could apply to most other countries as well): that right now the Australians have no choice but to play their best youth at the highest levels(like their senior NT) because by the time their reach their peak age at their mid twenties, most of the girls have to worry about making a living or raising families because they can't make a living in AUS semi pro league and it's government(even if it's rich) or soccer federation will NOT continuously support them.

So here in America, we should be lucky that the US Soccer Federation gives the women's game equal treatment. That we have an excellent college system that gives thousands of full scholarships to females every year so that can get a good education while still playing good competitive soccer. But as noted, we need to share our love for the women's game with the rest of the world, not rub it in!

 

@WPS_Movement But this argument/debate isn't about one teams questionable brilliance, odd factors of fame, or the all around red dwarf sized hubris of it's fans, is it... This is about whether or not, based on what your initial head scratching selection criteria set up, my condensed non U.S.wnt related top 6, remains valid in here on factors of mystique and overall positive fame.

And now with your points for consideration finally laid out, it still sounds like your missing the obvious idea of the other teams major accomplishments, which of course all include large amounts of mystique; A factor which can't be measured in the same simplistic equations of celebrity culture, that typically help generating fame, or it's very close relation infamy.

Using your criteria for a top 20 list, I definitely understand the notion of fame being heavily in the corner of the U.S.wnt, but on factors of mystique, I find it laughable that you could suggest any U.S.wnt post '99, could rank well with any on my condensed top 6 list, especially when you yourself highlight the fact everybody is forced to know everything about the U.S.wnt, in ways which has gradually reversed the little mystique they may of had post '91, into nothing more than a pre YouTube grainy VHS memory.

I mean look; I've already highlighted Lyon's credentials, but can anybody not familiar with the Brazilian, German, Japanese, Scandinavian, or early Chinese programs, explain exactly what distinctive but intangible quality surrounding these sides, helped them reach the highs they eventually did, with the various deficiencies they still each have in their own nations attitudes towards female football, and it's wider lagging sporting/social appeal...?

No matter how large, fame alone doesn't cultivate the culture behind brilliant Brazilian demonstrations of women's football. Doesn't help Germany accomplish a likely never repeated dominating WWC double. Can't foresee Japan's technical/tactical rise to prominence. Never guides the continued ongoing football success story of Scandinavia's women. And never put China in prime position to show everybody the best blueprint for teams in future years, all hoping to close the still massive gap between athleticism vs technique too.

So overall, I still feel mystique is probably the far bigger/tougher quality to quantify here...