The Three Lions defeated Slovenia and Scotland in recent outings and have jumped seven places while Germany remain top and Spain move to ninth despite defeat to the world champions
England have moved up to 13th in the Fifa world rankings following their recent wins over Slovenia and fierce rivals Scotland.
Roy Hodgson’s side had slipped to 20th in the rankings following a dismal World Cup, in which they were eliminated with just a single point, but have climbed seven places after they defeated Slovenia 3-1 and Scotland by the same scoreline.
England’s rise coincides with falls from Algeria, Croatia and Mexico – 18th, 19th and 20th respectively – who all suffered surprising defeats in the latest round of fixtures, the latter losing 3-2 to Belarus in Minsk.
Germany continue to hold the number one spot, while the six nations below remain unchanged.
Spain moved one place to ninth despite their defeat to the world champions in Vigo, while Portugal are tied seventh with France.
The biggest climbers were Faroe Islands following their 1-0 victory over Greece, the minnows jumped 82 places to world number 105 after beating the Euro 2004 winners.
Joan Edmundsson struck the decisive goal in the 61st minute in Athens, their first competitive away win since beating Luxembourg in 2001.
- decisive – settling an issue; producing a definite result; menentukan
San Marino ended a 61-game losing streak in their Euro 2016 qualifying draw with Estonia and now share 180th spot with Bermuda and Cambodia.