England stay ahead of Nations League champions Portugal in world rankings
Last updated on .From the section Football
England remain ahead of Nations League champions Portugal in the new Fifa world rankings - despite losing in the recent semi-finals.
Gareth Southgate's side stay fourth, with Portugal moving up one place to fifth, and Belgium retaining top spot ahead of world champions France.
Northern Ireland climb five places to joint-28th after Euro 2020 qualifying wins over Estonia and Belarus.
Wales drop four places to 23rd and Scotland slip one spot to joint-45th.
World Cup semi-finalists England beat Switzerland on penalties in the inaugural Nations League to finish third and are currently top of European Championship qualifying Group A.
The fall of Wales in the rankings is the result of two recent Euro 2020 qualifier defeats by Croatia and Hungary, and Scotland suffered a 3-0 defeat by Belgium, leaving them fourth in Group I.
Nations League finalists the Netherlands, who beat England in the semis, climb two places to joint-14th, alongside Italy.
Germany, who were knocked out in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup but are enjoying a 100% record in Euro 2020 qualifying so far, sit just outside the top 10 in joint-11th with Argentina.
Hungary (42nd), Armenia (97th) and Malaysia (159th) are the biggest climbers - all up nine places - while Greece have suffered the sharpest drop, from 43rd to 52nd.
The next rankings will be released on 25 July.
- Portugal beat the Netherlands 1-0 in Nations League final
- Nations League: Are England shaping up as Euro 2020 contenders?
| FIFA top 10 world rankings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Ranking difference |
| 1 | Belgium | 0 |
| 2 | France | 0 |
| 3 | Brazil | 0 |
| 4 | England | 0 |
| 5 | Portugal | 2 |
| 6 | Croatia | -1 |
| 7 | Spain | 2 |
| 8 | Uruguay | -2 |
| 9 | Switzerland | -1 |
| 10 | Denmark | 0 |
