Ireland may have fallen in the Fifa world rankings, but the latest update doesn’t make for exactly grim reading.
An anti-climactic draw against a youthful Netherlands side and an even more lacklustre 2-1 loss to Belarus in Cork has seen the Boys in Green take a two-place tumble down to 33rd in the world in the latest rankings update.
Despite drawing their only match in May, Sweden’s goalless snooze-fest with Slovenia was enough to see them climb one spot up to the 35. This means Ireland won’t be the lowest-ranked team in Group E heading into the tournament in France.
Belgium have held steady in second just behind Argentina, while Italy’s friendly win over Scotland was enough to see them climb three places up to 12th.
England’s 2-1 victories over Australia and Turkey weren’t enough to stop them from drifting just out of the top 10, while Northern Ireland went up one spot (25) to leapfrog Wales who dropped two places down to 26. The Italy result saw Scotland drop to 43rd.
