The United States Women's National Team may have won the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but their group stage loss to Mexico on Feb. 26 has proven more costly than initially believed.

The USWNT dropped to No. 4 in the latest FIFA World rankings behind Spain, England and France. It marks the team's lowest-ever ranking.

Prior to Friday, the U.S. women had never been ranked below No. 2 in the world.

The USWNT defeated Brazil 1-0 in the Gold Cup final on Sunday but fell to Mexico 2-0 in their final group stage match in what is being considered one of the most surprising upsets in team history.

The U.S. women's loss was just the second time they had been defeated by Mexico in 43 fixtures and the first time they had fell to the country since 2010.

The USWNT's latest spot in the FIFA World rankings is perhaps the biggest sign that the team isn't the powerhouse it once was and that it is in somewhat of a rebuilding phase following last year's World Cup disappointment.

The Americans won just one of their group stage matches at the 2023 World Cup, a 3-0 win over Vietnam, and posted a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and a 0-0 draw against Portugal.

In the knockout stages, the USWNT fell to Sweden on penalties in the Round of 16. After the tournament, Vlatko Andonovski stepped down as head coach and Twila Kilgore has served as interim head coach ever since.

While the USWNT aren't the threat they once were, it's important to recognize that other countries have invested more in their women's programs over the last decade, which is why countries like Spain, England and France are emerging as leaders in the women's game.

"It just shows how far the game is coming and there's no easy games anymore," Kilgore told reporters after the team's loss to Mexico. "If we don't take care of business and we don't execute, this is to be expected and we'll step up and take ownership of that."

With players like Megan Rapinoe now in retirement and Alex Morgan in the latter half of her career, the responsibility lies on the likes of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Naomi Girma to lead the program into the future.