MONTREAL — When FIFA released its final 2014 world rankings, the U.S. was not No. 1.
Germany was. And still is.
It was the first time the United States was not the No. 1 team in the world in seven years.
FIFA releases new world rankings every few months, and despite beating England in a February friendly and winning the Algarve Cup in March, the U.S. hasn’t been able to regain that top spot.
Beating Germany and winning the World Cup would surely restore power to the Americans.
But even though the U.