The Gambia have climbed three places in the latest global ranking released by the world football's governing (FIFA), on Wednesday, March 3.

The Scorpions, who started 2010 as the 98th best team in the world, have climbed up to occupy the 95th position, while their continental placing of 22nd position remained unchanged. The latest monthly rankings were, however, a mixed result for Gambia's group opponents in the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifier campaign. While the best placed team in Gambia’s Group 6, Burkina Faso, had their 51st global placing unchanged, both Namibia and Mauritania dropped further to the bottom table.

Namibia, who occupy 28th position in African ranking, have dropped two places world ranking and are now ranked 111th globally, while the lowest ranked side in the group, Namibia, have dropped from 161st to 162nd.

Meanwhile, African Champions Egypt, have dropped out of the top ten, slipping from seven places to 17th on the list and it means there is no African team amongst FIFA's top 15. Egypt, however, remain the highest placed African country in the rankings. Cameroon are next in 20th place, followed by Nigeria in 21st and Ivory Coast in 22nd.

More movement can be expected in the next edition of the rankings as a considerable number of matches were being played on March 3, a date reserved for friendly matches in the international match calendar. It is an opportunity for many teams, not just those who have qualified for South Africa 2010, to make progress in the rankings. South Africa are the only team representing Africa at the World Cup that remains outside the continent's top ten. They are placed 16th in Africa and 81st overall. Spain continue to occupy the top spot in the world rankings ahead of Brazil and the Netherlands.