World champions Italy slipped from second to third in FIFA's latest standings because of last month's goalless World Cup qualifying draw in Bulgaria.
European champions Spain kept the lead in the table for the fifth straight month after two South Africa 2010 qualifying wins in October - the same monthly tally as Germany which leapfrogged Italy into second.
Netherlands, one of three European teams with a perfect qualifying record along with Spain and England, moved into fourth past Brazil which paid for a goalless home draw against Colombia last month.
Fabio Capello's England side moved up four spots to make the top ten, level with Portugal, for the first time since they failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
Outside the top ten, Paraguay made a big move, from 22nd to 17th, thanks to their great World Cup qualifying run that sees them top the South America group, six points ahead of Brazil and seven above Argentina.
FIFA rankings (previous position in brackets):
1. (1) Spain
2. (3) Germany
3. (2) Italy
4. (5) Netherlands
5. (4) Brazil
6. (7) Argentina
7. (6) Croatia
8. (9) Russia
9. (8) Czech Republic
10= (10) Portugal
10= (14) England
12. (11) France
13. (13) Turkey
14. (12) Cameroon
15. (16) Israel
16. (15) Bulgaria
17. (22) Paraguay
18. (17) Greece
19. (18) Romania
20. (19) Ukraine
