STEPHEN KENNY’S Ireland have moved up one spot to 48th in the latest Fifa men’s rankings.

The boost comes after their most recent international window saw the team lose 2-1 to Norway and beat Malta 1-0 on the back of a disappointing year overall in which the Boys in Green finished third in their Nations League group.

The next challenge comes in 2023 as they attempt to qualify from a Euros group that also includes Netherlands, France, Greece and Gibraltar.

Meanwhile, World Cup winners Argentina have failed to dislodge Brazil from the top of the rankings as England remain fifth in the post-Qatar standings.

Argentina have moved into second spot after Lionel Messi and company led them to their third World Cup triumph on Sunday.

Beaten finalists France also climb one place to third, with Belgium dropping two rungs to fourth following their failure to get out of the group stage in Qatar.

England stay fifth after their quarter-final exit, with Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain completing the top 10.

Wales drop nine places to 28 after a disappointing performance at their first World Cup for 64 years, their lowest position since being 37th at the start of April 2015.

Scotland are 42nd and Northern Ireland 59th.

World Cup semi-finalists Morocco are up 11 places, as are Australia who won two matches in Qatar at they reached the last 16.

Morocco move up to 11th and replace Senegal as the top African nation, while Australia climb to 27th.

Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy