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Ireland unchanged as FIFA reveal latest rankings

Brazil jump two places to number three while Spain and The Netherlands remain on top.

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND remain the 34th best side in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings which were released by the footballing authority earlier this morning.

Though the combined effect of a 2-1 win over Macedonia and a 3-2 defeat against Uruguay saw Giovanni Trapattoni’s men drop 18 FIFA points, their position in the overall ranking table remains unchanged over the past month.

Northern Ireland and Scotland, both of whom will visit the Aviva Stadium next month for the second round of games in the Carling Nations Cup, have dropped to 65th and 66th in the world respectively while FYR Macedonia have fallen by two to 85th.

At the top end of the rankings, World Cup finalists Spain and the Netherlands continue to occupy the top two spots while Brazil have jumped two places into third spot courtesy of their recent 2-0 victory over Scotland at the Emirates.

Germany and Argentina fall back to fourth and fifth as a result with Italy making a return to the world’s top ten following a seven-m0nth absence. Cesare Prandelli’s team move up from 11th to ninth.