Although the SAFF Champion-ship -- the most important tournament in the past four weeks -- has failed to rock the boat in the rankings, winners India (118th, up 9) and Bangladesh have managed to improve their standings considerably.

Bangladesh, who finished runners-up in the SAFF Championship in Pakistan in December 2005 and beat Pakistan 1-0 on aggregate in the Asian Cup pre-qualifiers, improved their position to 143rd place from 160.

Only twenty-one matches -- 17 from 2005 and four this year -- have been taken into account for the first FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking in 2006.

As expected, the effects of the games at the start of the World Cup year are minimal, with very few changes in position among the top 50.

Brazil continue to dominate at the top, followed by the Czech Republic and the Netherlands at a respectful distance of 40 points.

The composition of the top 50 has changed little as a consequence of the minor movements with UEFA represented by 25 teams, CAF with 9, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF with 6 each and AFC with 5.

The forthcoming African Cup of Nations with World Cup finalists Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Tunisia promises to cause a few waves before next month's FIFA Coca-Cola World Ranking.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 15 February 2006.

THE TOP 10
FIFA Coca-Cola World Ranking as of Jan 18, 2006:
1. Brazil 839 pts
2. Czech Republic 796
3. Netherlands 790
4. Argentina 772
5. Spain 768
. France 768
7. Mexico 767
. United States 767
9. England 757
10. Portugal 753