CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Mexico have soared 19 places in the latest FIFA world rankings published on Wednesday.
Jose Manuel de la Torre's side are now ninth in the rankings -- the first time they have been in the top 10 since 2007 -- following their 4-2 defeat of hosts the United States in the Gold Cup final last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Montenegro, who climbed eight places to 16th, and Ivory Coast, who moved from 21st to 14th, have both attained their highest positions in the history of the FIFA rankings.
Montenegro's rise is rendered all the more startling by the fact they only began playing as an independent nation in 2006 and did not compete in an official competition until the 2010 World Cup qualifying tournament.
World champions Spain and the Netherlands remain in the top two, but Brazil have slipped two places to fifth, allowing Germany and England to leapfrog them, while Argentina have crashed five places to 10th.
FIFA world ranking released on Wednesday (change in brackets):
1. Spain
2. Netherlands
3. Germany (+1)
4. England (+2)
5. Brazil (-2)
6. Italy (+3)
7. Portugal (+1)
8. Croatia (+2)
9. Mexico (+19)
10. Argentina (-5)
Selected:
13. Japan (+1)
14. Ivory Coast (+7)
15. France (+4)
16. Montenegro (+8)
17. Russia (+1)
18. Uruguay (-11)
22. Australia (-2)
24. United States (-2)
26. South Korea (+5)
Source: AFP
