England beat Switzerland 2-0 thanks to a brace from Danny Welbeck

England have climbed two places to 18th in the latest FIFA world rankings after beating Switzerland in the opening game of their European qualifiers.

Northern Ireland jumped 24 places to 71st after their impressive 2-1 win over Hungary, their first competitive away win in four years.

Meanwhile, Wales moved up 12 places to a share of 29th place with Scotland after their victory over Andorra.

World Cup finalists Germany and Argentina remain first and second in the rankings, with Colombia up to third despite a recent friendly defeat by Brazil, who are sixth.

The Republic of Ireland are up four spots to 62nd after beating Georgia to start their European qualifiers in fine style.

Algeria are the highest-ranked African country at 20th in the standings, while Iran rose four places to 44th to lead the way for the Asian sides.

FIFA world rankings (previous ranking in brackets):

1. Germany (1)

2. Argentina (2)

3. Colombia (4)

4. Netherlands (3)

5. Belgium (5)

6. Brazil (7)

7. Uruguay (6)

8. Spain (8)

9. France (10)

10. Switzerland (9)

11. Portugal (11)

12. Chile (12)

13. Italy (14)

14. Greece (13)

15. Costa Rica (15)

16. Mexico (17)

17. United States (18)

18. England (20)

19. Croatia (16)

20. Algeria (24)