Germany slump to 12th in FIFA rankings

England's 5-1 thrashing of Germany in Munich has sent Sven Goran Eriksson's team up six places to ninth in the FIFA world rankings - the first time since April 1999 the side have been in the top 10.

Germany have dropped from fifth to 12th, their worst position since the rankings were introduced in 1993.

World and European champions France still lead the rankings from Brazil and Argentina. Portugal rose from ninth to fifth, one place behind Italy.

England beat Germany 5-1 on September 1 in a World Cup qualifier. Victory against Greece on October 6 will put England into next year's World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan.

Argentina (794 points) are just five behind Brazil while France lead with 810.

Argentina have qualified for the finals but Brazil are struggling to gain one of the other three direct qualifying places from the South American group.