Sven-Goran Eriksson's side have closed the gap on the USA a place above them and only a handful of points separate the Three Lions from the five sides above them.

Five-time world champions Brazil still occupy the top spot but the Czech Republic, who qualified for the World Cup via the play-offs, are close behind in second place whilst another play-off victor - Spain, in sixth place - are one of a group of sides immediately behind.

All of the current top ten have qualified for the World Cup Finals and the strength of the European game is shown by the fact that only four of the top 14 sides come from outside the UEFA zone.

The procedure for deciding which sides are to be seeded for next year's World Cup in Germany has yet to be confirmed but in the draw for the 2002 World Cup, world rankings and performances in the previous three editions of the competition were taken into account.

FIFA are expected to confirm how the seeding system will operate on 06 December, three days before the draw itself in Leipzig.

FIFA World Cup Rankings - November 2005

Posn Country
1 Brazil
2 Czech Republic
3 Holland
4 Argentina
5 France
6 Spain
7 Mexico
8 USA
9 England
10 Portugal
11 Turkey
12 Italy
13 Denmark
14 Sweden
15 Japan
16 Germany
17 Greece
18 Uruguay
19 Iran
20 Croatia