Amavubi soar up Fifa rankings

RWANDA were one of the biggest movers in the latest Fifa World rankings, Times Sport reports.The Wasps moved up 31 places to 112th; which is by far their best ranking this year.They also moved back into the top 30 on the African continent (29) and rose to third position in the Cecafa region with Uganda (88) and Sudan (102) the only teams ahead of them.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Eric Nshimiyimana (R) is the brains behind Rwanda's rise in the Fifa ranking. He was the architect of the Benin win. The New Times/File.

RWANDA were one of the biggest movers in the latest Fifa World rankings, Times Sport reports.

The Wasps moved up 31 places to 112th; which is by far their best ranking this year.

They also moved back into the top 30 on the African continent (29) and rose to third position in the Cecafa region with Uganda (88) and Sudan (102) the only teams ahead of them.

The rise is attributed to the 2-1 win in their final 2012 Africa Nations Cup Group H qualifier against Benin in Porto Novo. The win made sure that they finished second to Ivory Coast (19) who maintained their place as Africa’s highest-ranked side despite dropping three places in the latest rankings.

The top three places in African remained unchanged with Egypt and Ghana second and third respectively.

The Pharaohs kept their second place by moving seven rungs up thanks to their 3-0 win over Niger thrashing of Niger in their Nations Cup qualifier last month.

The Black Stars’ 2-0 away win over Sudan helped them to move up four places up and to occupy 33rd position in the global ranking.

Benin were the biggest losers as they dropped 27 places in the overall list to occupy the 199th position after the Amavubi defeat.

There was just one change in the top five in the global list with Brazil moving into fifth. Spain remains the top side in the world, followed by Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay and the Brazilians.

After failing to qualify directly for the European finals, Croatia has dropped out of the top ten for the first time this year while Wales jumped 45 places to 45th after ending their Euro 2012 qualifiers on a high with victories over Switzerland and Bulgaria.

In South America, thanks to their first-ever win over Argentina, Venezuela have continued to progress, while Ecuador now have the top 50 firmly in their sights after their fifth victory in a row.

FIFA Rankings (Top 10)
1. Spain               
2. Netherlands                
3. Germany                    
4. Uruguay                     
5. Brazil                
6. Italy                          
7. England            
8. Greece             
8. Portugal           
10. Argentina       
 
Africa (Top 10)
19.  Ivory Coast            
29. Egypt                      
33. Ghana                      
35. Algeria                     
42. Senegal                    
44. Nigeria                     
47. Cameroon                          
49. South Africa    
54. Burkina Faso             
56. Morocco
 
Cecafa (Top 10)
88. Uganda
102. Sudan
112. Rwanda
131. Tanzania       
135. Kenya           
136. Ethiopia                 
141. Burundi         
190. Eritrea          
192. Somalia        
195. Djibouti

Ends