MX23RW : Friday, April 19 23:25:17| >> :600:187008:187008:

England leapfrog Croatia to rise to fourth in FIFA world rankings

Wins over the Czech Republic and Montenegro helped Southgate's men climb.

England have climbed one place to fourth in FIFA's latest world rankings after their crushing Euro 2020 qualifying victories over the Czech Republic and Montenegro.

Gareth Southgate's men are headed only by Belgium, France and Brazil after leapfrogging Croatia, the side who ended their World Cup dream at the semi-final stage in Russia last summer.

England opened their Group A campaign with a 5-0 rout of the Czechs at Wembley before coming from behind to win 5-1 in Podgorica last month as their rich vein of form continued.

Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales remain in 19th place following their 1-0 home win over Slovakia.

Mick McCarthy's Republic of Ireland return to the top 30 following a five-place improvement as a result of back-to-back qualifying victories over Gibraltar and Georgia in the new manager's first games back at the helm.

They are tied in 29th place with Serbia and Venezuela, who beat 11th-placed Argentina 3-1 during the last international break.

Michael O'Neill
Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland sit in 33rd (Niall Carson/PA)

Northern Ireland, who top Group C following home wins against Estonia and Belarus, sit in 33rd following a leap of three positions.

However, Scotland slipped four places to 44th, immediately behind Australia, Nigeria and Greece, after their 3-0 humbling in Kazakhstan and a 2-0 win in San Marino.

Israel made up the most ground in the top 100, rising eight places to 84th in part as a result of their 4-2 qualifying win against Austria, who drop 11 to 34th.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Damian Spellman, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '03c34684-1552-4ec2-9c0d-3137ce47df23');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'England climb to fourth in FIFA world rankings'});

ID:355292: cacheID:355292:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6395:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Josh Magennis celebrates scoring for Northern Ireland on March 24, 2019
Read Next:
Michael O'Neill praises "invaluable" Josh Magennis after late NI winner
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!