Scotland rise to number 35 in world rankings

Scotland soared 28 places in Fifa’s world rankings yesterday to No 35, and will attempt to continue their resurgence with a friendly away to Norway next month.

Steven Naismith scores against Croatia in Scotland's 2 - 0 win. Picture: TSPL

The SFA confirmed Scotland will travel to Norway for a 19 November meeting, with the venue still to be confirmed. Gordon Strachan’s men host the United States at Hampden four days earlier.

The world ranking of 35 is Scotland’s best placing in more than four years, and of the 209 nations listed by Fifa, only Molodva made a bigger leap, rising 33 places. Scotland will be looking to continue the momentum gained from winning three of their last four qualifiers in an otherwise disappointing World Cup campaign.

Strachan, whose side rounded off their group games with a 2-0 win over Croatia, said: “We enjoyed a fantastic result this week against a top-class nation and it is important we continue to challenge ourselves to improve.”