A pair of strong results in last month's World Cup qualifiers helped Iran national football team climb five places in the latest FIFA World released on Thursday.

The recent wins over Qatar and China in booking their place at Russia 2018 sent Team Melli to 28th place.

Iran followed by South Korea (N0. 43), Japan (No. 44), Australia (No. 50) and Saudi Arabia (No. 52) in AFC.

Five-time world champions Brazil returned to what they will consider their rightful place at the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in seven years.

With 129 games played across the month there was movement throughout the table, as just 19 of the 211 member associations stood steady in their March placings. With five of those 19 within the top ten, Switzerland (9, plus 2) were the only side to break into the top ten, with Uruguay heading in the opposite direction (15, minus 6).

The next FIFA World Ranking will be published on 4 May 2017.

Top ten rankings (previous month's places in brackets)

1. Brazil (2)

2. Argentina (1)

3. Germany (3)

4. Chile (4)

5. Colombia (7)

6. France (6)

7. Belgium (5)

8. Portugal (8)

9. Switzerland (11)

10. Spain (10)