England have recently dropped three places in the FIFA World Rankings, and are now in 17th place for September - their lowest position for 12 years, reports the Telegraph. They were at their all-time highest placing when rising to third place in August 2012 - following their quarter-final exit from the European Championships. Their recent 0-0 draw to Ukrainecontributed to the side's drop in the rankings. FIFA World Rankings - Top 20 Spain - 1514 Argentina - 1263 Germany -1261 Italy - 1199 Colombia - 1180 Belgium - 1159 Uruguay - 1126 Brazil - 1067 Netherlands - 1058 Croatia - 1051 Portugal - 1029 Greece - 1016 USA - 996 Switzerland - 992 Russia - 968 Chile - 967 England - 947 Bosnia and Herzegovina - 934 Ivory Coast - 902 Ecuador - 851 The latest fall could now see England in danger of being outside the top seeding when the 2014 World Cup groups are drawn - which could see England coming up against a top-8 nation in their group. Being placed lower than nations such as USA, Croatia, Switzerland, Greece, and Chile will come as a big disappointment to manager Roy Hodgson, but he's more worried about England confirming their place in next summer's tournament. England still have to seal their spot in the 2014 World Cup - with must-win games against Montenegro and Poland to come.
Crippy Cooke, 23, is a freelance Football Writer contributing to What Culture. He's had work featured on Zoo, MSN, London 24, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and was recently named Writer of the Year on FTBpro - while also a nominee for Best Male Blog in the Football Blogging Awards.
