Fifa World Rankings: Northern Ireland have overtaken the Republic of Ireland in the Fifa world rankings for the first time since they were introduced in August 1993.
The Republic have dropped six places to 49th, their lowest ranking since November 1998, while Lawrie Sanchez has seen his team rise to 45th, their highest placing since May 1994.
When Sanchez succeeded Sammy McIlroy as Northern Ireland manager in January 2004 the team was at 124 in the Fifa list, 110 places below the Republic, as Sanchez recalled recently.
"It is ironic that, when I took over, Scotland and ourselves were in the doldrums, Wales and the Republic were in the ascendancy. It has gone the other way. But that is football," he said.
"I remember speaking to Brian Kerr at a conference: they were 14th and we were 124th."
When the Football Association of Ireland decided not to renew Kerr's contract when it expired last year, chief executive John Delaney cited the team's drop in the rankings as one of the reasons for the decision.
Since Steve Staunton's appointment, however, in January of this year, the team has fallen from 26th in the world, with successive defeats to Chile (home), the Netherlands (home), Germany (away) and, most damagingly, Cyprus (away) responsible for the drop.
While the only way might have been up for Northern Ireland when Sanchez took over - they hadn't won a game in nearly three years and had gone 1,298 minutes without scoring a goal - their rise since he took charge has been dramatic, the highlights of his reign to date a 1-0 victory over England at Windsor Park, in a World Cup qualifying match last year, and last month's 3-2 Euro 2008 qualifying defeat of Spain at the same ground.
The Republic, then managed by Jack Charlton, debuted at sixth in the world when the rankings were first introduced in 1993, and stayed in the top 20 for just over two years. Their low point came at the end of 1998, in Mick McCarthy's reign, when they dropped to 57th, but they steadily rose over the next three years, until regaining their top-20 position in October 2001.
They remained in the top 20 for the next four years, but there has been a steady decline in their ranking over the past year.
Slovakia, the Republic's Euro 2008 Group D rivals, have also overtaken Staunton's team, rising to 41st, with Germany and the Czech Republic holding on to their positions in the top 10. Wales have dropped 15 places to 77th, but Cyprus, on the back of that 5-2 victory in Nicosia, have risen 23 places to 80th. San Marino, the lowest-ranked team in the Republic's group, are unchanged at 194th, with just 11 countries below them.
Brazil retain first position but world champions Italy are closing in, having moved up from third to second.
France, Argentina and England have all dropped one place, to third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Stoke City have confirmed that Republic of Ireland international Rory Delap suffered a double fracture of his right leg 12 minutes into Tuesday night's league game against Sunderland, from where he is on loan.
The 30-year-old, who sustained the injury following a challenge from Robbie Elliott, will undergo an operation today and is expected to be out of the game for six months.
"It's shocking for any player to suffer an injury like that," said Sunderland manager Roy Keane.
"It was just an accident; I think Robbie got part of the ball before he connected with Rory. My heart goes out to him and I wish all the best to him and his family from everyone at Sunderland. Please God, he'll be okay."
