England rise to fourth in the world rankings following Euro 2022 triumph over Germany

England have climbed to fourth in the world rankings on the back of their historic Euro 2022 triumph.

The Lionesses went into the tournament ranked eighth in the world but emerged victorious, beating Germany 2-1 after extra time in the final to win the country’s first major trophy since the men’s side lifted the 1966 World Cup.

World champions the United States – England’s opponents for a sold-out friendly at Wembley on October 7 – remain top of the rankings, while Germany sit second and Sweden third.

Chloe Kelly celebrates scoring the winning goal against Germany in the Euro 2022 Final 

England’s rankings surge sees them move ahead of France, the Netherlands, Canada and Spain.

The Euros were not the only competition taking place globally last month, with continental championships also taking place in Africa, South America, North America and Oceania, all of which served as qualifying events for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The US triumphed in CONCACAF’s W Championship to help preserve their place at the rankings summit.

The World Cup draw will take place in Auckland on October 22 and Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, who watched on jubilantly as England were crowned European champions, believes the Lionesses will be one of the favourites for the tournament. 

USA and England clash in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, a game the Americans won 2-1 

‘Having home advantage certainly helps and I think crossing the globe to play in Australia, with the title of European champions adds pressure. But I do think we’ve got a fantastic group of younger players coming through that can build on the current success. So of course, as European champions, we will go in as one of the favourites.

‘Great people make great teams. I think they are relatable. Everybody can see themselves or their children in them.

I think the responsibility to deliver for the nation is something that inspired them and didn’t paralyse them. Especially in the moment on Sunday night at 1-1.

‘I think it was unbelievable how they dealt with the challenges of the game and the tournament.’ 

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes believes they can now prove a major threat at the World Cup

England will play USA at Wembley Stadium in October and the game sold out inside 24 hours 

England’s game against the USA in October sold out inside 24 hours and is set to break attendance records for an England’s women’s match. 

The FA were forced to apologise when the official site crashed several times as fans raced to secure tickets to the game. 

The 87,192 who watched the Lionesses lift the Euro 2022 trophy could now be eclipsed by the crowed that attend the clash at Wembley later this year. 

England’s players celebrate in front of a packed Wembley Stadium during the Euro 2022 final

England’s squad are keen to build on the momentum from their historic win and have published an open letter to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak asking for their commitment, if voted as Prime Minister, to ensure girls have equal access to football in schools across the country.

The letter read: ‘We want every young girl in the nation to be able to play football at school. Currently only 63 per cent of girls can play football in PE lessons.

‘They deserve to play football at lunchtime, they deserve to play football in PE lessons and they deserve to believe they can one day play for England.’