Italy regain no.1 position from Argentina

World champions Italy have reclaimed top spot from Argentina in FIFA's world rankings which were published by the governing body yesterday.

Argentina had knocked them off their pedestal for one month but the Azzurri's Euro 2008 qualifying victory over Scotland last month restored them to number one. Brazil remain third.

The same teams as the previous month filled the top 10 although England, who are struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 after a 0-0 draw in Israel, slipped two places to eighth.

The Netherlands and Portugal moved up to sixth and seventh respectively, while Spain rose one place to ninth.

Outside the top 10, Turkey's impressive form moved them up 10 spots to 17th while Northern Ireland have equalled their best-ever world ranking of 33rd after their victory over Sweden in a Euro 2008 qualifier.

Both Turkey and Northern Ireland are top of the qualification groups for next year's European Championship finals in Switzerland and Austria.

Malta continued to slowly edge closer to the top 100 and are now placed joint 110th along with Estonia and Syria with 247 points.

This latest position is an improvement of one place from the previous FIFA rankings.

Liechtenstein (131st, up 31) made the biggest leap after their victory over Latvia last month, only their fourth competitive triumph.

Another UEFA member country, Kazakhstan made another significant climb in the ladder and are now 116th. In March, Kazakhstan were placed 143rd.