England slip to 17th in world rankings - below United States and Switzerland

More embarrassment for Roy Hodgson's side after poor showing against Ukraine

Steven Gerrard applauds the England fans in Kiev (GETTY IMAGES)

England have dropped below the United States and Switzerland in the latest Fifa world rankings published today.

Roy Hodgson's side have dropped to 17th place, their lowest position since 2001 when they also occupied 17th following a dismal run under Kevin Keegan that ended with the subsequent improvement under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

It comes off the back of an indifferent campaign that has seen the Three Lions draw against their rivals in World Cup Qualifying Group H, with no guarantees they will be on the plane to Brazil next summer.

It's a dramatic drop for the side that were ranked third in August last year.

The world rankings throw up a few anomalies that are likely to draw attention. While Spain unsurprisingly remain the top ranked team, Colombia are up to fifth and Belgium occupy sixth.

Brazil, who won the Confederations Cup during the summer are eighth, while the Netherlands, who have already qualified for next summer's tournament, are ninth.

Top 20 teams in the world...

1 Spain

2 Argentina

3 Germany

4 Italy

5 Colombia

6 Belgium

7 Uruguay

8 Brazil

9 Netherlands

10 Croatia

11 Portugal

12 Greece

13 USA

14 Switzerland

15 Russia

16 Chile

17 England

18 Bosnia-Herzegovina

19 Côte d'Ivoire

20 Ecuador