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THE fallout from Ireland’s devastating 1-6 defeat to Germany in the World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne is still being felt.
The international side has fallen eight spots to 36th in the latest FIFA world rankings.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni held on to his job after Ireland secured a 4-1 win in the Faroe Islands a few days later but the Italian has traditionally placed great store in the FIFA rankings, which do not now make for pleasant reading.
Ireland’s next match is a friendly game against Greece next week.
Five-time world champions Brazil remain stuck outside the FIFA top 10, despite winning both friendlies last month and scoring 10 goals in the games.
The 2014 World Cup hosts, who qualify automatically for the tournament, have been slipping steadily down the table over the last year as they have only been playing friendlies which carry less weight in the complex system.
The leading two remained unchanged with world and European champions Spain on top, ahead of Germany.
England have slipped a place to sixth with Euro 2012 finalists Italy, the side who eliminated England in that competition, replacing Roy Hodgson’s side in the top five.
Northern Ireland jumped 17 places thanks to their memorable 1-1 draw in Portugal, moving to 100 in the standings. Scotland, who sacked Craig Levein as manager this week, have dropped below Wales after being beaten 2-1 in their head-to-head match last month.
Scotland drifted by 14 to 70th while a 2-0 defeat in Croatia meant Wales also dropped from 57th to 66th.
