Germany back in top ten
Malta gain two places - 126th
There was no change at the top of the March edition of the FIFA World Ranking as the leading six nations, headed by Brazil, remain unaltered.
Long-time ranking trail-blazers Germany (10th, up 2) are back in the top ten having fallen from grace in December last year.
Czech Republic and England consolidate their top ten berths, moving into a three-way sixth-spot tie with Argentina.
In the top 50, Iran show how it is done as they move up seven slots to claim their best-ever ranking, taking 24th place. Undoubtedly helpful in this endeavour was their 3-1 win over Qatar in the FIFA World Cup qualifying match on February 18.
Teams in the nether regions of the ranking have followed Iran's lead: Hungary (67th, up 7), Haiti (86th, up 8) and Cyprus (92nd, up 7) have all made considerable gains but the uncontested Best Mover this month is Belarus (78th, up 13).
Belarus won the Malta International Tournament last month despite fielding a second-string team made up of Under-21 players and other fringe candidates.
In spite of their 4-0 final defeat to Belarus, Malta still rose two places in the latest ranking to take 126th slot.
A goalless draw against Moldova and a 5-2 victory over Estonia were the driving forces behind Malta's progress in the ranking.
Finland, Malta's opponents in a friendly match at Ta' Qali on March 31, are ranked 42nd.
On the African continent, the best points gains so far this year go to Tunisia, Nigeria, Mali and Morocco, still riding high on their wins in the African Cup of Nations.
FIFA World Cup qualifiers are once again underway in North and Central America and the Caribbean, as well as in Asia, with 25 matches taking place last month. Add to this the 43 friendly matches contested worldwide and the total number of international matches in the first quarter of this year has already surpassed the 150 mark.