Wednesday 6 December 2017 16:03, UK
England Women will end the year as the best women's national team in Europe, according to UEFA's latest rankings.
England reached the semi-finals of last summer's European Championships and have made a perfect start to qualification for the 2019 Women's World Cup.
The Lionesses, who are expected to announce a permanent replacement for Mark Sampson next week, are ranked above France (3rd) and European champions the Netherlands (2nd).
Two-time World champions Germany drop to sixth after being knocked out of Euro 2017 at the quarter-final stage by eventual runners-up Denmark.
Scotland, who were beaten 6-0 by England at last summer's tournament before springing a surprise 1-0 win over Spain in their first appearance at a major finals, are eighth in the rankings.
The rankings are calculated on a points system, with 40% weighting based on teams' performances during Euro 2017 qualifying and finals, 40% for 2019 World Cup qualifying and 20% for results from the 2015 Women's World Cup qualifying and finals.
