Spain's No. 1 in FIFA rankings; US is No. 24

ZURICH, Switzerland — European champion Spain remained No. 1 in FIFA's soccer rankings Wednesday, followed by Italy and Germany. The United States is No. 24.

The Americans climbed seven places, with fellow CONCACAF member Mexico staying at No.24.

Brazil is South America's best, advancing two spots to No. 4. The Netherlands and Croatia dropped a place each to Nos. 5 and 6. Argentina remains No. 7.

In the one change in the top 10, Russia moved up to No. 9 at the expense of fellow Euro 2008 semifinalist Turkey, which dropped three places to No. 13.

Cameroon continues to rise as the leading African nation, jumping two rungs to No. 12, two places above England. Israel advanced three spots to No. 16, its best ranking.

Japan leads the Asian Confederation at No. 32, with New Zealand making a leap to No. 54. Its two World Cup qualifying victories over Oceania rival New Caledonia helped lift the Kiwis 57 places.

Other nations enjoying best placings were Lithuania, up 17 places to No. 37, and Macedonia, up 10 to No. 46 after beating Scotland in a World Cup qualifier. The Scots took the biggest drop among leading nations, down 10 places to No. 26.

Counting toward the rankings were 125 international matches played in the past month, including 106 qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The next rankings are Nov. 12.