England and Wales move up Fifa world rankings

Capello's side booked their place at Euro 2012 last week PA Photos

England have moved up to seventh in the latest Fifa world rankings, while Wales have shot up 45 places to 45th.

World champions Spain remained on top of the pile, extending their lead over The Netherlands courtesy of their 23rd consecutive home victory – the 3-1 Euro 2012 qualifier win over Scotland last week.

Germany, Uruguay and Brazil (up 2), have all managed to close the gap on Holland, while Greece (8th, up 3) and Denmark (10th, up 7) are back in the top 10 after booking their place at next summer’s European championships.

Gary Speed’s Wales are back in the top 50 for the first time in eight years as a result of their second victory over Switzerland last week.

Fifa world rankings – October edition – Top 10

1. Spain, 1624

2. Netherlands, 1425

3. Germany, 1352

4. Uruguay, 1230

5. Brazil, 1144

6. Italy, 1135

7. England, 1101

8. Greece, 1044

8. Portugal, 1044

10. Argentina, 1030

10. Denmark, 1030

How are the Fifa world rankings calculated?

• Any team that does well in world football wins points which enable it to climb the world ranking.

• A team’s total number of points over a four-year period is determined by adding:

• the average number of points gained from matches during the past 12 months; and

• the average number of points gained from matches older than 12 months (depreciates yearly).