Early tournament exits for Iceland and Costa Rica have seen Ireland benefit.
The first Fifa rankings since the World Cup are now out and there have been some major moves. Croatia and France have surged up the rankings while Ireland have also climbed.
The points accumulated by sides at the 2014 World Cup are out the back gate so sides that did well at the most recent tournament have taken huge leaps forward. France are up six places to first while Croatia have surged 16 places to fourth.
Belgium move up to second and trade places with the team they beat in the quarter finals, Brazil. Gareth Southgate’s England are up six places to sixth.
Conversely, the 2014 finalists have been hit hard. Argentina are down six places to 11th while Germany, champions four years ago, plummet to 15th from their previous position of 1st. How the mighty have literally fallen.
Poland (18th) and Peru (20th) have also dropped significantly in the rankings but the points losses for Iceland and Costa Rica have directly benefited both Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Costa Rica went from 23rd to joint 32th in the world while Iceland join them in that position, having previously been 22nd. Both sides were eliminated in the World Cup group stages.
The drops for those two nations see Ireland climb into the top 30. Martin O’Neill’s men are up two places to 29th.
Ireland’s highest ever ranking was 8th – reached three times between 1991 and 2002 – but 29th is a huge improvement from our all-time low of 70th in the Fifa rankings, back in June/July 2014.
Northern Ireland are up two positions, too, from 29th to 27th. Rounding out our near neighbours, Wales are 19th while Scotland are down in 40th.
Bring on the Uefa Nations League!
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