Ireland have climbed two places on the Fifa World Rankings after last night’s 2-1 win against Paraguay in the RDS.
The win, Ireland’s first in five games, saw them rise to 41st place. Northern Ireland are also up one place to 56th while England remain eighth.
The leader board is topped by Brazil in first and hotly tipped Spain in second.
Ireland will get the chance to climb further up the ranks if they can secure their second win in a week when they go up against Algeria in the RDS on Friday.
The win will have come as little consolation to the players however, many of whom are still struggling to get over the disappointment of failing to qualify.
“Everyone is just geared up to the World Cup and it’s pretty hard to take at the moment with everything that’s surrounding England,†said Preston’s Sean St Ledger. “Everyone is talking about it, and not to be part of it hurts.”
