England Move Up to No. 4 in FIFA Rankings; Belgium Stay Top

England's two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying wins against Czech Republic and Montenegro last month have seen them move up into fourth place in the latest FIFA rankings.

Gareth Southgate's Three Lions have moved up a spot and replaced Croatia, the side they lost to in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup last summer.

The top three stayed the same, with Brazil at No. 3, World Cup winners France at No. 2, and Belgium at No. 1:

England have arguably never before deserved such a lofty ranking. 

But their promotion to No. 4—their joint second highest position in history—comes amid a Southgate-led renaissance which has seen England establish themselves as one of the standout international teams in Europe.

Last year's run to the semi-finals in France was aided by an easy draw in the knockout rounds.

But England have since picked up marquee wins against Spain and Croatia in the UEFA Nations League, and they will face Netherlands in the semi-finals of that tournament on June 6.

Meanwhile, the recent 5-0 win over Czech Republic and 5-1 victory in Montenegro were results indicative of a side high on confidence:

Uruguay were the only other side in the top 10 to move up the rankings as they leapfrogged Portugal into sixth.

Lionel Messi's Argentina are still No. 11 after their friendlies in March, in which they lost 3-1 to Venezuela before beating Morocco 1-0.

Germany, meanwhile, moved up three places into 13th after a friendly draw with Serbia and 3-2 Euro qualifying win against Netherlands which came without 2014 World Cup winners Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng:

Elsewhere, the United States moved up a place into 24th, Austria moved down 11 places to No. 34, and Israel made the biggest advance from 92nd to 84th.