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According to the latest rankings released from Fifa headquarters in Switzerland yesterday morning, Zimbabwe slipped down from 99 last month to 106 while Burundi, ranked 143 before their victory over the hugely depleted Rahman Gumbo-coached Warriors, moved up by nine places to 132.
In January, the Warriors were ranked 102 on the  world stage before moving up just three places to 99 last month.

On the African continent, there were no  changes in the top seven with Cote d’Ivoire  remaining at the apex while African champions Zambia are still rooted on fourth position and 41 on the world stage.
Ninety-one games have been taken into account for the March edition of the Fifa/Coca- Cola World Ranking, three-quarters of which were friendly matches.

According to the Fifa international calendar, there are no major matches, including friendlies up to the month of June when African qualifiers resume.
The Netherlands (2nd, up 1) are once again Spain’s closest challengers thanks to their 3-2 victory in England, which was coupled with a 2-1 defeat for Germany (3rd, down 1).
Meanwhile, Argentina (8th, up 3) have returned to the top ten after a one-month absence, pushing Denmark (11th, down 1) out of the coveted positions in the process.

In Asia, ten matches in the third round of the preliminary competition for the 2014 Fifa World Cup have left their mark. Uzbekistan (67th, up ten) sensationally defeated Japan (33rd, down 3) 1-0 to claim top spot  in their group, and they now head into round four defending an unbeaten record. Korea Republic (30th, up 4) have also benefited  from Japan’s slip-up to surge past the Samurai Blue   for the first time since 2004, whereas Australia (20th, up 2)

have also returned to the top 20 thanks to their high-scoring 4-2 victory over Saudi Arabia.

The biggest climbers of the month all come from Africa, however, with the victors of 13 matches in the second round of Caf Africa Cup of Nations 2013 qualifying all securing the most points, and Democratic Republic of Congo (101st, up 29), Chad (112th, up 29) and São Tomé e Príncipe (115th, up 53) in particular all causing a stir.