Germany is top FIFA women's team

ZURICH, Switzerland, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Germany, which won the World Cup title this year, has finished first for the fifth consecutive year in the FIFA women's soccer team world rankings.

Germany beat Brazil in the World Cup finals and was 15 points ahead of the United States in the rankings. Sweden is third followed by Brazil and Norway. North Korea is rated sixth and France seventh followed by Denmark, Canada and England.

Sweden jumped up one spot pushing Brazil to fourth -- the only change in the FIFA women's Top 10.

Even with a German loss in the Algarve Cup, a tournament won by the United States, the Germans held onto the year-end No. 1 spot. The United States had a better record this year, going 19-1-4, but that loss was in the semifinals of the World Cup, where rating points are enhanced.

Ranking points are accumulated based on the results of a team's matches over the previous four years, the importance of each match, the strength of the opponent, the strength of the region and the number of matches per year that each team plays.