According to FiveThirtyEight’s Global Soccer Rankings, Tacoma Defiance have nowhere to go but up

There are 634 men’s professional soccer clubs in the world ... and the Tacoma Defiance rank at No. 634.

At least according to FiveThirtyEight’s Global Club Soccer Rankings.

Starting in 2017, the analytics and statistics driven site has published these rankings. From the Premier League in England to the USL here in America, each team is ranked on the basis of ESPN’s Soccer Percentage index; match performance and future match forecasts, future season forecasts, match importance, match rating and league strengths.

The USL is nowhere near as strong as those in Europe so it’s not a shock that a number of USL teams rank near the bottom. Most of the teams in the MLS rank in the 300s of this latest ranking. If you’re wondering, the Seattle Sounders rank 318.

The Tacoma Defiance are 2-11-4 and have a league-worst -30 goal differential, scoring 14 goals but conceding 44. They are in the middle of a 12-match winless streak and have not won a game since beating Sacramento Republic FC on April 1. In their last match, the Defiance played to a 1-1 draw with Austin Bold FC on June 15.

Unlike some of the other teams in the USL, the Tacoma Defiance have seen a lot of movement on their roster with younger players participating in international competitions or have been in training camps with their national teams. With some of the same movement on the Seattle Sounders happening, players like Danny Leyva among others that would be starting or playing for the Defiance are moving up to the first team.

The Defiance are back in action on July 7 when they travel to face Rio Grande Valley on the road but they’ll be back at Cheney Stadium on July 24 when they take on the Las Vegas Lights at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published June 18, 2019 at 2:56 PM.