The Republic of Ireland has moved up 11 places to 31st in the Fifa World rankings in the wake of its Euro 2016 play-off victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The rise is also partly down to Ireland's defeat in October of world champions Germany which would have attracted a significant number of bonus points.
The Republic now lie one place behind Northern Ireland in the world ladder and nine behind the Bosnians but three ahead of Poland who beat Martin O'Neill's side in Warsaw in October to finish ahead of them in the qualification group.
The Germans, meanwhile, are down from number two to four, with Joachim Löw's side slipping behind both Argentina and Spain. Belgium retain the number one spot.
The Irish women’s team, meanwhile, is to face the USA is a friendly match in San Diego next month.
Sue Ronan’s side, also ranked 31st in the world, will take on the world champions on January 23rd.
Two days later, the Irish will face the US under-23s in a game to be played behind closed doors in Carson, near Los Angeles.
"We normally go to La Manga in January for a winter training camp but couldn't turn down this opportunity," said Ronan.
"Having two matches in California will give me the opportunity to have a good look at all the players in the squad as well as some of those based in America because we have a lot of work to do before the Euro 2017 qualifiers resume in April."
