Rwanda drop in Fifa rankings

WORLD 1. Spain          2. Netherlands3. Germany4. Brazil5. Argentina AFRICA 1. Egypt (9)2. Ghana (20)3. Ivory Coast (23)4. Gabon (31)5. Nigeria (34)6. Algeria (35)7. Cameroon (37)8. Burkina Faso (39)9. Tunisia (56)10. South Africa (58)

Thursday, September 16, 2010
AMAVUBI player Haruna Niyonzima. (File photo)

WORLD

1. Spain         
2. Netherlands
3. Germany
4. Brazil
5. Argentina
 
AFRICA

1. Egypt (9)
2. Ghana (20)
3. Ivory Coast (23)
4. Gabon (31)
5. Nigeria (34)
6. Algeria (35)
7. Cameroon (37)
8. Burkina Faso (39)
9. Tunisia (56)
10. South Africa (58)
 
CECAFA

11. Uganda (63)
25. Sudan (101)
27. Tanzania (111)
28. Rwanda (112)
29. Kenya (114)
 
AFTER Amavubi’s humiliating 3-0 defeat against Ivory Coast in the 2010 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers early this month, Rwanda has dropped by one place on the latest Fifa rankings.

The team is now ranked 112th. On a happier note, though, there is progress on the CAF ranking after the team broke through to the top 30.

Ranked 31st last month, Rwanda has risen to 28th.
In the CECAFA region, Uganda is still leading after moving up six places to 63rd worldwide and 11th in Africa. This comes after Uganda Cranes’ resounding 3-0 defeat against Angola in the opening match of their group’s Africa Nations’ Cup qualifier.

Sudan is second (101st in the world and 25th in Africa) while Tanzania (28th in Africa and 112th in the world) and Kenya (114th in the world and 29th in Africa) are third and fourth respectively.

Rwanda’s Group H opponents Ivory Coast are 3rd on the continent and 23rd in the World; Benin is 13th in Africa and 69th in the world while Burundi is 33rd in Africa and 122 in the world.

World and European champions Spain maintained top spot in the rankings ahead of fellow 2010 World Cup finalists Netherlands.

Germany (3rd) and Brazil (4th) have traded places, as have England (6th) and Uruguay (7th), with the two European teams benefiting from their successful start to the 2012 Euro qualifying.

The most impressive climbers, however, are Montenegro who have won both of their Euro 2012 qualifiers against Wales and Bulgaria to leap by 33 places to achieve 40 for the first time in their history.

This represents an incredible rise for the newest member of the FIFA family, who started off with the lowest ranking with no points to their name just three years ago.

Other major movers further down the ranking, including Guinea (81st, up 21), Georgia (89th, up 21), Burundi (122nd, up 20) and particularly Guinea-Bissau (140th), who have climbed 48 places after returning from almost three years of inactivity with a victory.

On the whole, the following are currently in their highest-ever position on the world ranking since its introduction in 1993: Slovakia, Montenegro, Cyprus and Belarus, as well as Burkina Faso (39th), Uganda (63rd) and Botswana (82nd).
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on October 20.

Ends