Soccer: France move nearer goal

The French have closed the gap on Brazil at the top of the FIFA world rankings, but could not quite overhaul them despite their World Cup and Euro 2000 victories.

France now sit just 17 points off first place after the European Championship saw considerable movement in the top of the rankings.

England's poor performances, which culminated in defeats against Portugal and Romania, saw them slip three places to 15th.

Beaten finalists Italy moved up eight places and entered the top 10 at No 6. The biggest climbers were Holland, who jumped from 21st to eighth.

Rankings: Brazil 825 points 1, France 808 2, Czech Republic 753 3, Spain and Argentina 744 4 equal, Italy 732 6, Portugal 717 7, Netherlands 713 8, Germany 711 9, Norway 708 10, Yugoslavia 705 11, Romania 701 12, Mexico 698 13, Croatia 694 14, England 691 15.