The Fifa ranking system has been called into question after the latest list released placed England third in the world, their highest ever position.
Roy Hodgson's side have moved above Uruguay into third, despite failing to reach the last four of a major competition since 1996.
Bizzarely, Italy, the side that knocked England out Euro 2012 and went on to reach the final are ranked three places lower in sixth.
Portugal, who reached the semis in Poland and Ukraine, are also lower, as are Holland even though they reached the World Cup final in 2010.
England's lofty position asks significant questions of the way the rankings are calculated.
Apart from a friendly win over Spain last November and the 5-1 thrashing of Croatia in a qualifier for the 2010 World Cup, England have struggled against the World's top teams.
The nation's last victory against significant opposition at a major competition was the 1-0 win over Argentina at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
FIFA state their rankings are based on all international matches, including friendlies, played in the previous four years.
The criteria included are the outcome, status of the match, opponent's strength and the strength of team's confederation.
Wins against high ranking opponents in competitive matches are very valuable, while only results over the last 12 months count in full.
Those from the previous year count half, while games played up to three and four years earlier have even less significance.
