James McFadden's goals have taken Scotland to new heights

Despite their 2-0 loss in Georgia, the Scots have moved from 14th to 13th - two places behind England, who fell to 11th from ninth after losing to Russia.

The top nine European teams are seeded for the 2010 World Cup qualifers.

Argentina head the rankings, Brazil are second, Italy third, the managerless Republic of Ireland are 32nd, Northern Ireland 36th and Wales 58th.

Interview: Scotland manager Alex McLeish

FIFA WORLD RANKINGS 1 Argentina 2 Brazil 3 Italy 4 France 5 Germany 6 Spain 7 Holland 8 Portugal 9 Czech Republic 10 Croatia Selected others: 11 England 13 Scotland 32 Republic of Ireland 36 Northern Ireland 58 Wales

If Scotland maintain their current position, they will qualify for the second group of seeds, a significant improvement from their Euro 2008 campaign, where they were among the fourth-ranked teams.

And their position could improve further if the Scots beat world champions Italy in their final Euro 2008 qualifier on 17 November, a match they must realistically win to reach the finals next year.

It is a tough assignment for Alex McLeish's side against the World Cup holders, but they have reason for hope after taking maximum points from their previous home qualifying games against the Faroes, France, Georgia, Lithuania and the Ukraine.

England's hopes of finishing in the top nine have been severely dented following their defeat in Moscow.

The battle for qualification from Group E is now out of England's hands.

606: DEBATE Give your thoughts on Scotland's advance in the world rankings

Croatia need only one point from their remaining two games to qualify. Russia will qualify if they win their remaining two games, while England, who play Croatia at Wembley in their last game, need Russia to slip up.

Meanwhile, the Republic's failure to qualify for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland led to the Football Association of Ireland terminating the contract of manager Steve Staunton by mutual consent.

Under-21 boss Don Givens will take temporary charge of the senior side.