Harambee Stars climb two places in latest FIFA rankings

Kenya’s men’s national football team, Harambee Stars, have climbed two places in the latest FIFA rankings released on Wednesday, 1 April.

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Benni McCarthy's side is now ranked 111th in the world, returning to the position it held in September 2025.

The rise, which is Kenya's first since October - when Kenya also rose by two places to rank 109th - comes after a set of mixed results in their latest pair of international friendlies played last month in Kigali, Rwanda.

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In what was Harambee Stars' first game of the year, Kenya lost 5-4 on penalties to lowly-ranked Estonia after a 1-1 draw in regular time, before winning their first game since beating Burundi in October by pummeling Grenada 3-0 on Monday, 30 March.

The two games were part of the 2026 FIFA Series, which is a biennial invitational football tournament promoted by FIFA, that features international friendlies between national teams from different confederations taking place in March of every even-numbered year.

The upward trajectory by the national side comes as welcome news, following a drop-off in November, which was followed by stagnation through November.

To make things better from a Kenyan perspective, Harambee Stars' rise coincided with a drop from their East African rivals Tanzania, who went down three places to position 113.

Tanzania's decline comes after Taifa Stars lost 1-0 to minnows Liechtenstein on Thursday, 26 March, a result that was not to be salvaged by a 6-0 thrashing of Macau three days later.

As for the Uganda Cranes, they remained rooted in 88th place, after failing to feature during the March international break.

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The biggest mover - upwards - in the rankings was Vietnam, which climbed nine places to rise above Kenya in 99th place.

This comes after the Asian side won all its games in March, first beating Bangladesh 3-0, before edging Malaysia 3-1.

Coicidentally, it was Malaysia who dropped the most in the rankings, dropping by 17 places to rank 138th in the world.

On the opposite end of the standings, 2018 World Cup champions France assumed top status, overtaking both Spain and Argentina.

Meanwhile, Senegal shockingly dropped two places to rank 14th in the world, this despite winning both of their March friendlies against Peru and The Gambia.

Morocco, who were last month awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final victory over Teranga Lions, remained the continental leaders in eighth.