Brazil hold off Italy's surge

The 20 points awarded for world champions Italy's draw with Turkey would have sufficed to pull level with top-ranking team Brazil.

However, thanks to their victory over Switzerland in a friendly, the Brazilians were also able to increase their points total and even build slightly on their lead.

Immediately behind the leading pair, Argentina (3rd, up 1) and France (4th, down 1) have swapped places.

Meanwhile, Nigeria (9th, up 2) have broken into the top ten at the expense of Spain (12th, down 2). Both Argentina and Nigeria's rise up the pecking order are due to the devaluation of defeats from mid-November 2005.

Portugal (8th, up 1) have climbed the rankings thanks to their victory over Kazakhstan in a Euro 2008 qualifier. Russia (23rd, up 10) are flying high in the same competition and are in their highest position since early 2003.

The most valuable match in the last four weeks was Croatia's 4-3 win in Israel. It is also worth noting that the number of teams in the rankings is at a record high.

Timor-Leste, who joined FIFA in 2005, are now among the 206 teams in the rankings. The only team yet to feature in the rankings is Comoros, who became members last year.

Malta down to 115th

After a hefty rise of 33 places last month, Malta dropped four spots, from 111th to 115th.

A 4-1 defeat to Lithuania in a friendly last week cost Malta 12 ranking points. The previous month, the national team had gained an impressive 118 points thanks to the 2-1 win over Hungary in a Euro 2008 qualifier.