World Cup holders Italy have knocked Brazil off the top of FIFA's world rankings after four and a half years. Brazil, who won the 2002 World Cup but were eliminated by France in last year's quarter-finals, lost top spot after a 2-0 friendly defeat by Portugal last week, FIFA said on Wednesday. Italy were last top in November 1993, just three months after rankings were introduced by the game's ruling body. The rankings, which are used to determine seedings at international tournaments, are based on the results of the past four years with extra weight given to more recent matches. The strength of the opposition and the nature of the competition are also considered, with tournament and qualifying matches earning more points than friendly games. The six teams below Italy and Brazil remain unchanged; with Argentina, France, Germany, England, the Netherlands and Portugal occupying spots three to eight. FIFA top 20 1. Italy 1562 pts 2. Brazil 1540 pts 3. Argentina 1535 pts 4. France 1496 pts 5. Germany 1359 pts 6. England 1330 pts 7. Netherlands 1312 pts 8. Portugal 1262 pts 9. Czech Republic 1193 pts 10. Spain 1161 pts 11. Ukraine 1018 pts 12. Croatia 987 pts 13. Greece 926 pts 14. Switzerland 913 pts 15. Romania 912 pts 16. Sweden 894 pts 17. Cameroon 893 pts 18. Denmark 876 pts 19. Mexico 857 pts 20. Scotland 854 pts