England fall to eighth in Fifa world rankings

Despite Capello seeing his team win their last two matches, they fall four places in the rankings

England have fallen four places to eighth in the new FIFA world rankings despite winning back-to-back Euro 2012 qualifying matches.

Fabio Capello's side beat Bulgaria 3-0 in Sofia and Wales 1-0 at Wembley to move closer to a place in next summer's tournament.

FIFA's rankings are based on results over a four-year period, and England have slipped behind Uruguay, Portugal, Italy and Brazil in the standings.

World and European champions Spain have edged back to first place, with Holland dropping to second and Germany static in third, ahead of Copa America winners Uruguay.

Wales return to the top 100, climbing 27 places to 90th after their Euro 2012 qualifying win over Montenegro, but Northern Ireland fall 11 to 70th position following defeats by Estonia and Serbia.

Republic of Ireland nudge up two places to reach 29th after draws with Slovakia and Russia, while Scotland rise three to 52nd after drawing with Czech Republic and beating Lithuania.

Top 10: 1. Spain 1605 points; 2. Holland 1571pts; 3. Germany 1290; 4. Uruguay 1184, 5. Portugal 1158; 6. Italy 1142; 7. Brazil 1132; 8. England 1089; 9. Croatia 1057; 10. Argentina 1024.