Scotland are now ranked higher than the Republic of Ireland in the new FIFA rankings published on Thursday.
The table is updated every international break and Steve Clarke's latest set of results sees them take 45th spot, up from 49.
At the same time Stephen Kenny's faltering side have plummeted from 47th to 50th while Northern Ireland now also sit above their neighbours.
Wales, in 19th, are unchanged while England have moved up to third in the world, deposing world champions France from the top three.
It's a sign of sure and steady progress under Clarke, who kept our hopes of World Cup 2022 qualification alive in the last game of the recent triple header with a big win in Austria.
Victory against Israel next month at Hampden would give Scotland a massive chance at making a play-off to reach Qatar with two minnows to come in the final two games in the form of Moldova and the Faroe Islands.
Belgium remain the world's number one ranked side with Brazil their nearest challengers.
