FIFA rankings: India drop 13 places

India suffered a steep fall of 13 places in the latest FIFA rankings, the first to be released after the World Cup in Germany.

India, who are preparing for the Vancouver Whitecaps Nations Cup in Canada under new English coach Bob Houghton, dropped from 117th place to 130th in the new standings.

Brazil continue to lead the rankings. But the big gainers are world champions Italy, who climbed 11 spots to second place.

The new format, used for the first time to decide the rankings, take into account performances over the last four years as against the earlier format of assessing eight years' showing.

The previous method had attracted criticism, indicating that the formula for calculation was too complicated.

Eyebrows were raised when teams like the Czech Republic, the United States and Mexico were ranked higher than more established teams.

In the latest rankings, losing World Cup finalists France gained four spots to number four, while Argentina, who impressed all with their fluent football before being ousted on penalties in the quarter-finals by Germany, gained six places to number three.

Hosts and third-placed Germany climbed 10 places to number nine, while England, who reached the last eight gained five spots to number five.

The Czech Republic, ranked second before the tournament, fell to number 10.

Other major losers were the Netherlands (down three places to number six), Spain (down two places to number seven) and Portugal (down one place to number eight).

Switzerland and Ukraine, who overachieved in Germany, experienced a huge leap. The Swiss rose 22 places to 13th while Ukraine climbed 30 spots to 15th.

The United States, ranked fifth two months ago, fell to 16th and Mexico lost 14 places to 18th.

Paraguay and African newcomers Ivory Coast made it to the top 20. Ghana rose 23 places to

25th while Australia gained nine places to 33rd.

Asian powerhouses fared dismally in the latest rankings with all the four nations playing the World Cup suffering steep falls.

Iran upstaged Japan as the top-ranked side in the continent even after dropping 24 spots to 47th. The East Asians lost 31 places, to be ranked two notches lower.

South Korea fell 27 places to 56th while Saudi Arabia dropped 47 places to number 81.