By Ade O`Connor
April 24 2003

The Republic of Ireland fall one place in the latest FIFA World rankings, from position 14 to position 15. This follows the slender victory in Georgia, and the goalless draw against Albania, in their quest to qualify for the European Championships to be held in 2004. Czech Republic leaps two places into 13th position, following their impressive form. The Irish find themselves one place behind the Italians, however there is no shame in following a side who posses World class stars such as Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta.

The FIFA World Rankings are headed by reigning World Cup champions Brazil, closely followed by Spain, who knocked the Republic out of the competition in Korea and Japan. France and Germany are next, as Argentina drop to sixth place.

England finds themselves seventh, after securing a difficult victory over the minnows of Liechtenstein, followed by a commanding 2-0 win versus Turkey at Elland Road.

The Turkish also fall two places after that loss, Mexico and the United States round off the top ten nations. The ranking of the U.S. and the Mexicans highlights the degree of success of football in North America.

For the first time in their history, Costa Rica makes the top twenty nations, climbing from twenty-first to eighteenth.

Wales return to the top 50, after an eight-year absense, following the resurgence of football in Cymru. The Scottish reverse their unfortunate slump by elevating four places, into 59th position.

Into Ulster, and the Northern Irish fall into 111th place, after disappointed losses against Armenia and Greece.