The Republic of Ireland have risen one place to 61st in FIFA’s monthly-updated world rankings following the side’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany.
Martin O’Neill’s side routed Gibraltar 7-0 at Aviva Stadium on 11 October before earning a late 1-1 draw against world champions Germany in Gelsenkirchen three days later.
However, no ranking points were awarded for the victory over Gibraltar as FIFA has yet to admit the British overseas territory to its organisation.
Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland have soared 28 places in the rankings to 43rd after a superb start to their qualifying campaign yielded three victories.
Germany still occupy top spot in the rankings despite their draw against Ireland and their earlier loss to Poland, while beaten World Cup finalists Argentina are second in the FIFA list.
Colombia complete an unchanged top three.
Belgium have climbed one place to fourth place - their highest ever position.
The top 10 is completed by the Netherlands, Brazil, France, Uruguay and Spain.
Of Ireland’s other Euro 2016 Group D rivals, Scotland are 37th, Poland are 44th and Georgia are 117th.
Besides Belgium, three other teams have achieved their highest-ever ranking, with Algeria moving up to 15th, Iceland up to 28th and Antigua and Barbuda reaching 70th.
England have dropped two places to 20th, while Wales are down to 34th.
No Asian team is in the top 50, with Iran the highest at 51st. The best movers were Togo, who moved up 73 places from 125th to 52nd.
