England and Scotland were rewarded for positive results in their recent European Championship qualifying matches after Steve McClaren's side returned to the top ten of the Fifa rankings and Alex McLeish's men equalled the best position in their history.

Wins over Israel and Russia saw England up to ninth, putting them back in the top ten for the first time since June. They also edged ahead of Croatia, their Group E rivals, who have dropped four places to tenth despite topping their qualifying table.

Scotland, meanwhile, were rewarded for their famous victory over France in Paris - as well as a more regulation win against Lithuania - with a nine-place surge to 14th, a place they last held in May.

Italy, the World champions, lead the standings after jumping two places after a victory over Ukraine and a draw with France. They replace Brazil, who fall to third behind fellow Copa America finalists Argentina.

The Republic of Ireland climb five spots to 32nd despite suffering disappointment in their own European Championship qualifying matches and are now ahead of Northern Ireland who have slumped nine positions to 36th.

Wales, meanwhile, have a significant leap of 21 places as a reward for ending the international break on a high with a 5-2 win at Slovakia.