IRELAND have fallen to a nine-year low in FIFA’s World Rankings despite beating Finland earlier this month.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s outfit have dropped one place to 63rd in the rankings after this month’s win against Finland and loss to Greece to taken into account.
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It is the lowest Ireland have been since March 2015, and close to the lowest ever of 70th in June 2014.
The rankings are crucial towards the World Cup qualification which will made in December, with Ireland presently on course to be a third seed.
But UEFA has sought permission to change team’s seedings if there is the potential for fixture congestion, with Ireland also facing a potential Nations League play-off next March.
Whether that will be a factor will not be known until after the final Nations League fixtures next month, when Ireland host Finland and then visit England.
The World Cup qualification groups will be made up of four or five teams, with the top side qualifying automatically for the 2026 finals and second place going into play-offs.