July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Spain tops the FIFA world rankings for the first time following its victory in soccer's European Championship.

The 1-0 win over Germany in the Euro 2008 final three days ago gave Spain its first title in 44 years. It becomes the sixth team to be No. 1 in the governing body's monthly rankings since they were introduced in 1993.

Argentina, which had held the top spot since October, dropped five positions after recent World Cup qualifying matches. Brazil fell from second to fourth.

Italy, which lost to Spain in a penalty shootout in the Euro quarterfinals, moved up one spot to second, with runner-up Germany jumping two slots to third.

The Netherlands is up five spots to fifth and Croatia up eight to seventh after both reached the quarterfinals. The Czech Republic, Portugal and France round out the top 10.

Russia moves 13 positions to 11th and Turkey is up 6 spots to 14th after both reached the semifinals.

England, which didn't qualify for the European Championship, dropped out of the top 10 to 15th. Defending champion Greece fell 10 spots to 18th after failing to get out of the group stage.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in London at bbensch@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 2, 2008 06:15 EDT