Despite not playing since the last FIFA rankings update in late November, Ireland have dropped 3 spots in the world rankings. After the heady days of the glorious 1-1 victory over World Champions Germany, Ireland were making a painstakingly slow ascent up in the world.
This rise was halted last month, despite a win over a higher ranked side in USA, and now Ireland have slipped from their lofty position of 61st all the way down to 64th after playing a grand total of 0 games in the intervening period.
Ireland's drop is due to the results of teams like Egypt, Togo and Burkina Faso. Ireland are now 33rd in the rankings of European teams, with Montenegro ahead of us, and Bulgaria just behind.
This is the final rankings release of the year, and Ireland have improved slightly from this stage 12 months ago, after two years of big drops. Ireland move up from 67th to 64th from the end of 2013 to now. Ireland will have to wait until March before they get another chance to climb the rankings.
See Also:
