In the latest FIFA world rankings, published on Thursday 30th November, the England national football team have moved up one place from fourth to third.
It is the joint-highest that The Three Lions have ever been in the FIFA rankings. They first reached third in the world between August and September 2012, just after UEFA EURO 2012, and then again went to third between September and October 2021, just after UEFA EURO 2020.
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This is the first time outside of a tournament year that England have moved into the top three ever, moving themselves above Brazil in the leaderboard.
England were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw in Skopje against North Macedonia in their most recent outing as they finished UEFA EURO 2024 qualification unbeaten, above the likes of 2020 winners Italy and 2020 quarter-finalists Ukraine.
When asked about the rankings ahead of the game against North Macedonia earlier this month, England manager Gareth Southgate, who it is speculated will be heading into his final tournament as England boss in Germany next summer, stated the aim to reach number one in the world:
“Yeah, because ultimately you achieve that through consistency and you’ve got to play well in the tournaments as well because the ranking points are higher in the tournaments. Also, it sets behaviours every day on the training pitch, off the training pitch. If you are going to be the top-ranked team, there’s no room for sloppiness or casualness. That’s got to be our drive.”
Brazil, who are currently under the interim management of Fluminense boss Fernando Diniz amid rumours of Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival ahead of the 2024 Copa America, have suffered three successive defeats in CONMEBOL qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and currently sit sixth, just inside the automatic qualifying spots.
The two sides above England in the rankings remain the finalists from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, last winter. Reigning world and South American champions Argentina are on 1855.2 points, above France on 1845.44. England are the only other side with over 1800 ranking points.
