FIFA World Rankings 2016: Updated Standings Ahead of Euro 2016, Copa America

England have fallen out of the top 10 in the latest official FIFA world rankings, with Northern Ireland moving up to 25th, the highest spot in their history. 

The new standings were published on the governing body's official website on Thursday on the brink of two major international tournaments, the Copa America Centenario and the UEFA European Championship.

Argentina lead the way, ahead of Belgium and Colombia, who are in second and third position, respectively.

Here are the top-10 nations, including Austria after they overtook the Three Lions, per the June edition of the rankings:

Rank	Team	Total Points	+/-
1	Argentina	1,503	0
2	Belgium	1,384	0
3	Colombia	1,328	1
4	Germany	1,310	1
5	Chile	1,293	-2
6	Spain	1,267	0
7	Brazil	1,257	0
8	Portugal	1,181	0
9	Uruguay	1,150	0
10	Austria	1,077	1

The team to make the biggest jump last month was Madagascar, moving up a whopping 29 places to 108th spot. Meanwhile, the nation to drop the most places was Rwanda after they fell 16 spots to 103rd.

These standings make for fascinating reading on the cusp of the two summer spectacles, with a total of 40 teams vying for glory in the competitions. Argentina, perched at the top of the FIFA standings, will want to make good on their reputation as the world’s best side by finally clinching some silverware this summer.

Nicolas Aguilera/Associated Press

Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe thinks the Albiceleste are the big favourites to clinch the centenary title:

Belgium are the best Europe has to offer in the rankings, although they are still not considered to be among the absolute favourites to triumph in France.

The team will be without skipper Vincent Kompany for that tournament, something that’ll be a big blow for manager Marc Wilmots. However, their side contains a variety of stars from the Premier League, with stand-in captain Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

Bleacher Report’s Gianni Verschueren thinks the team need to up their standards going into the competition after they toiled to a disappointing draw against Finland in their latest friendly encounter:

England are out of the top 10 despite their recent good form. Friendly losses to Spain and the Netherlands are the nation’s only defeats in their last 20 games, with two draws and 16 wins. Manager Roy Hodgson has split opinion with his squad selection for the upcoming Euros, but he has a lot of talent to choose from, particularly in the attacking positions.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

One side looking to make their mark at the tournament is Northern Ireland, who will be buoyed by their all-time high ranking. Michael O’Neill’s side are not expected to progress from a group that contains Ukraine, Poland and world champions Germany, but as we can see here, courtesy of OptaJoe, they have a strong recent record to point to:

Austria are back in the top 10 and are a talented team many expect to assume the role of dark horses at the Euros. However, they’ll need their star man David Alaba to be a little more alert than this if they’re going to enjoy a deep run in France:

"

Tremendous own goal from David Alaba yesterday...https://t.co/RQjf5kzcWR

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) June 1, 2016"

The favourites for European glory are the host nation, who have jumped up four places to 17th spot in the rankings. Injuries to the likes of Raphael Varane and Lassana Diarra have hampered their preparations, but France still have plenty of quality in almost every position on the pitch. A few wins at the tournament would propel them up the standings further.

In the Copa, Argentina’s biggest rivals will most likely be from South America. Chile, the titleholders, are now ranked as the fifth-best team in the world, having previously occupied third, while Brazil and Uruguay, who each have pedigree in the competition, sit in seventh and ninth, respectively.