Egypt jumped six positions in the monthly FIFA ranking announced on 4 July 2012, rising to 42 from last month's 48.

The Pharaohs climbed up the global ranking despite their recent elimination from the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifiers after a 4-3 loss on aggregate to Central Africa's Minnows.

The Egyptian national team kept their position in the African top ten and the Arab top five.

Spain became the first nation to successfully defend the European Championship title subsequently extending its lead atop FIFA's world rankings. Runner-up Italy climbed six places to No. 6.

Germany, which lost in a semifinal to Italy, climbed one spot to second, bumping South American champion Uruguay into third place.

Under current American coach Bob Bradley, the seven-time African champions are expected to do well after a good start in the World Cup qualifiers. The Egyptian team led group G with six points after two successive wins over Mozambique (2-0) and Guinea (3-2) in Alexandria and Conakry respectively.

FIFA rankings for July (June positions in parentheses):

1. Spain (1)

2. Germany (3)

3. Uruguay (2)

4. England (6)

5. Portugal (10)

6. Italy (12)

7. Argentina (7)

8. Netherlands (4)

9. Croatia (8)

10. Denmark (9)

Top 5 Arab teams:

35. Algeria (32)

39. Libya (32)

42. Egypt (48)

71. Morocco (67)

101. Saudi Arabia (92)

Top 10 African teams:

16. Côte d'Ivoire (16)

33. Ghana (25)

35. Algeria (32)

39. Libya (42)

40. Mali (43)

41. Zambia (44)

42. Egypt (48)

43. Tunisia (46)

45. Gabon (49)

58. Nigeria (60)

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