Germany rank ninth and look set for a top World Cup seeding while Italy slipped to 12th and Kosovo reached a new high of 80 as the FIFA rankings which will be used for upcoming World Cup draws were released on Thursday.
The rankings confirmed the pots for the European play-off draw which takes place on Thursday for matches in March.
Pot 1 is set to be Italy – who missed direct qualification for a third straight World Cup and slipped three ranking places – Denmark, Turkey and Ukraine. Pot 2 is due to be Poland, Wales, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Pot 3 is set to include Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and surging Kosovo. Pot 4 is due to hold Nations League entrants Romania, Northern Ireland, Sweden and North Macedonia.
The updated rankings are not expected to be a big factor in the inter-confederation play-offs in March, which will also be drawn in Zurich on Thursday.
DR Congo have now moved above fellow play-off side Iraq, although both are set to be seeded and will go straight to the play-off finals. Suriname, Bolivia, Jamaica and New Caledonia are also fighting for two World Cup spots.
The rankings are set to play a role in the seedings for the overall World Cup on December 5 in Washington.
FIFA has not announced the full draw format but there are 12 groups, with hosts the US, Mexico and Canada taking the first slots in their pools.
The rest of the top seeds are set to come from the rankings, meaning Germany would be a top seed along with rankings leaders Spain, holders Argentina, France, England, record champions Brazil, Portugal the Netherlands and Belgium.
Which pot the likes of Italy will end up in if they qualify remains unclear.
