Scotland move up 15 places as Germany hit top ranking

0 Gordon Strachan guided his team to two victories. Scotland have risen 15 places in the latest Fifa rankings, which were released by the world governing body yesterday.

Gordon Strachan’s side are now ranked No 43 following their recent World Cup qualifying victories over Lithua- nia in Vilnius and Malta at Hampden.

However, Scotland remain the lowest-ranked country among the home nations, who are led by Wales, who have moved up five places to No 13.

Germany have returned to the top of the rankings, taking over from Brazil following a busy programme of World Cup qualifiers

European champion Portugal move up three places to No 3, while Argentina fall one to No 4 and Belgium climb four places to No 5.

European teams, who each played two qualifiers, gained on their South American rivals and could have six of the eight seeded positions at the World Cup.

Hosts Russia, ranked No 64, plus the seven highest-ranked teams in October should be seeded in the 1 December draw.