According to the rankings table FIFA released from Switzerland on Wednesday, the Warriors leaped six places up to 100 in the world.
The positive development is attributed to the narrow win over Burundi to book a berth in the next round of the African Nations Cup, whose draw is scheduled for South Africa on Thursday evening.
The Southern African team prevailed 1-0 over the visitors to qualify on the away-goals rule. The team nonetheless remain 26th in the continent.
Zimbabwe’s improvement brings to a halt a disappointing slide in the rankings in recent months, culminating in the team reaching a lowly 106th in May.
Meanwhile, Spain have managed to extend their lead significantly by defending their European title, while finalists Italy (6th, up 6) have also been richly rewarded for their performances in Poland and Ukraine with a return to the top ten.
Defeated semi-finalists Portugal (5th, up 5) and Germany (2nd, up 1) have equally seen improvements in their positions, as have England (4th, up 2), Greece (12th, up 3), Czech Republic (18th, up 9) and hosts Poland (54th, up 8) and Ukraine (46th, up 6).
The Netherlands, on the other hand, have slipped down (8th, down 4), while Brazil (11th, down 6), currently sit in their lowest position since the start of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings in 1995.
A total of 133 international 'A' matches have been played in recent weeks, made up of 31 EURO 2012 matches, 60 qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, 15 CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and 27 friendlies.
All of these contests have clearly reshuffled the global ladder, with only 22 of the 208 ranked teams holding their position from the previous month, while 85 teams have moved up the table and 101 have dropped at least one place.
Post published in: Football