After the wave of international fixtures last week, FIFA published the latest version of its revised international rankings, which in the past have been much-maligned for rewarding those teams with weaker schedules. For those who care to see just how FIFA compiles its rankings, the Guardian provides an in-depth walkthrough. Despite a particularly lackluster performance against Macedonia, England leapfrogged world champion Italy to claim the fourth spot, its highest ever, on FIFA’s list, just behind Brazil, France and Argentina. The Guardian’s Ian Bass wonders how three games since the World Cup could propel England’s Lions past the Azzurri, which won won and drew two en route to the winning the World Cup. Surely, victories against Greece, Andorra, and Macedonia couldn’t be enough? Then again, Italy is now winless in its last three matches, having lost to Croatia, drawn against Lithuania, and lost in the World Cup final rematch to France in Paris. The Guardian goes more in-depth, but here’s the gist of FIFA’s new rankings system: it’s now based on results in the last four years instead of the last eight. The four basic criteria that affect ranking are match result, match status (what kind of competition it is), opposition strength, and regional strength, with a weighing system that favors more recent results. To see some actual number crunching: