Although Italy's last match was in November, Brazil, who won the 2002 World Cup but were eliminated by France in last year's??quarter-finals, lost the top spot after a 2-0 friendly defeat by Portugal last week.

Italy were last atop in November 1993, just three months after rankings were introduced by the game's ruling body.

The rankings, which are used to determine seedings at international tournaments, are based on the results of the past four years with extra weight given to more recent matches.

The six teams below Italy and Brazil remain unchanged, with Argentina, France, Germany, England, the Netherlands and Portugal occupying spots three to eight.