Ireland slip down to 55th in latest Fifa world rankings

The Republic of Ireland under Stephen Kenny continue to slide down the Fifa world rankings.

Ireland have dropped to 55th in the global game following defeats to Greece, France and the Netherlands since June.

When Kenny took the reins from Mick McCarthy in 2020, the senior men’s side were ranked 34th but a steady decline in results and failure to beat nations ranked above them nudges Irish football closer to their worst ever Fifa ranking of 70th.

Ireland’s highest ever ranking was sixth, while they entered the top 10 on three occasions between 1991 and 2002.

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However, the last time they were ranked in the top 20 was in 2004 under Brian Kerr. There followed a clear decline in the fortunes of the international team, as Ireland plummeted from 12th to 49th between 2004 and 2006.

The lowest ranking this century was 67th in 2013 before Martin O’Neill’s side rebounded to 23rd in the world after reaching the knockouts stages at Euro 2016.

These numbers are in sharp contrast to the women’s side, who are ranked 24th in the world, two places off their highest ever spot, which was attained last year before the World Cup in Australia. Defeats to Australia and Canada before a 0-0 draw with Nigeria saw Vera Pauw’s team eliminated a the group stages.

Eileen Gleeson is the interim manager for the upcoming Nations League campaign as the FAI continue to search for Pauw’s long term successor.