The much-derided Fifa rankings system is to be reviewed after it emerged playing too many friendlies was set to cost England a seeding again at next summer’s World Cup.

The game’s world governing body confirmed it would consider changing the way the rankings were calculated as soon as the qualifying stage for Russia 2018 had concluded.

Those rankings dictate which countries are seeded at the finals, with the top-seven nations, plus the hosts, awarded that honour at the draw for the tournament.

England’s current 13th place is poised to see them miss out for the second time in a row, having been drawn at the last World Cup in the ‘Group of Death’, along with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica, from which they were eliminated after just two matches.

England have continued to pay the price for playing too many friendlies - particularly against the likes of Germany, Spain and France - because the current system awards far more points for results in competitive games and the rankings are based not on the total earned but the average per match.

That has allowed the likes of Wales, Switzerland and Poland to climb the table by playing fewer and fewer friendlies, with the latter two currently lying fourth and fifth behind Brazil, Germany and Argentina and on track to be seeded in Russia.