17 Dec 2008England climb to eighth in Fifa rankings

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

England have climbed two places to eighth in the latest Fifa world rankings, it was confirmed today (December 17th).

Fabio Capello's men made their move up the list after recording an impressive 2-1 friendly victory over Germany in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin last month.

The Three Lions have made a solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, sitting proudly atop Group Six after four wins out of four.

The highlight to date was Arsenal flier Theo Walcott's stunning hat-trick in September's comprehensive 4-1 win over Croatia in Zagreb.

Meanwhile, John Toshack's Wales rose by two places to 60th after they recorded a 1-0 friendly win over Denmark, thanks to a Craig Bellamy strike

However, the news was less positive for the rest of the home nations, with Scotland remaining in 33rd place following their 1-0 reverse against Diego Maradona's Argentina.

Northern Ireland were the biggest losers, falling ten places to 52nd after they were defeated 2-0 by Hungary at Windsor Park.

The Fifa rankings system was most recently revamped following the 2006 World Cup.

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