Czech ranking best for six years
 |  Last month's win in Andorra has helped lift the Czechs to world No. 2 |
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LONDON, England -- Czech Republic climbed to second in the FIFA world rankings published on Wednesday following World Cup qualifying wins over Finland and Andorra last month.
The Euro 2004 semifinalists are second in European zone Group One, a point behind the Dutch, and fill their highest position for six years in the rankings.
World champions Brazil remain in top spot, with Argentina, currently leading the South American qualifying competition for the 2006 World Cup, still in third.
France, who continue to struggle in their qualifying group, slipped two places to fourth.
The Netherlands and England have both climbed two places, to fifth and sixth respectively, with Spain and Mexico going the other way to seventh and eighth.
FIFA rankings (March position in brackets):
1. Brazil, 834 points (1)
2. Czech Republic, 783 (4)
3. Argentina, 780 (3)
4. France, 777 (2)
5. Netherlands, 763 (7)
6. England, 757 (8)
7. Spain, 755 (5)
8. Mexico, 754 (6)
9. Portugal, 741 (9)
10. Italy, 735 (10)
10. United States, 735 (10)
12. Greece, 726 (14)
13. Sweden, 723 (13)
14. Turkey, 719 (15)
15. Republic of Ireland, 710 (12)
16. Uruguay, 709 (15)
17. Japan, 70 (18)
18. Denmark, 702 (17)
19. Iran, 701 (20)
20. Germany, 698 (18)
Note: FIFA's standings are based on a statistical analysis of countries' results over eight years, weighted according to how recently the matches were played, the strength of the opponents and the importance of each match.
