Czech Rep. move second after play-off success

The ten play-offs rounding off qualification for the World Cup next year as well as 41 friendly matches have caused another shake-up in the November FIFA rankings just before the year draws to a close.

Creeping up behind undisputed supremos Brazil are the Czech Republic in second place (up 1) after two consecutive victories, whereas Spain are catching up in the tightly packed scramble immediately behind (6th, up 2).

All of the current top ten have qualified for the World Cup finals, whereas Turkey (11th), Denmark (13th), Greece (17th), Uruguay (18th), Cameroon (22nd), Ireland (23rd), Colombia (25th) and Nigeria (25th) will all be conspicuous by their absence from Germany.

Australia's second qualification for a World Cup final competition after an absence of 32 years, has hoisted the association, which will soon belong to the AFC, into the top 50 teams (49th, up 5). With the exception of Trinidad (51st), Togo (56th) and Angola (62nd), all 32 World Cup finalists now feature among the top 50.

Victories in friendly matches have heaved Bulgaria (39th, up 7), Ivory Coast (41st, up 7), Belarus (59th, up 11) and Cyprus (97th, up 6) up a few notches.

The Maltese national team has not featured in any international matches during November. However, the points accumulated before have helped to push Malta up to 123rd, two positions better off than the previous month. Fellow UEFA minnows Liechtenstein are 124th, Andorra 127th and Faroe Islands 131st.

In the race for the annual "Best Mover of the Year" title, World Cup participants Ghana, Switzerland and Togo are leading the pack.