PARIS — Three years ago, long before Chile’s soccer team made its first appearance in a Women’s World Cup, it made news for an embarrassing reason.

In 2016, goalkeeper Christiane Endler and her teammates found out through news media reports that they had been dropped from FIFA’s official world rankings. The reason? Chile’s soccer federation had failed to schedule any activities for the women’s team for two years.

Unable to judge its performance on wins, losses or draws, FIFA simply declared the program “inactive.”

“I thought of walking away,” Endler said.

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Now, only three years later, Endler, who plays for Paris St.-Germain, has been voted the best player in the French league, and Chile finds itself playing in France in the biggest championship in women’s soccer. This has not been easy, either; Chile lost to Sweden, 2-0, in its first match, and on Sunday it will face a formidable United States team in Paris.