Rwanda drops in Fifa rankings

RWANDA has dropped two places to 107th in the latest Fifa World rankings released on Wednesday in Zurich, Switzerland. Rwanda, who progressed to the final qualifying round of the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) without kicking a ball following Eritrea’s withdrawal garnered 269 points, making them the second highest ranked team in the Cecafa region after Uganda, who remained unmoved in 74th position in the world and 16th on the continent. Rwanda’s next opponents in the CHAN qualifiers Tanzania are placed 108th and third in the region. Amavubi Stars head coach Sellas Tetteh told Times Sport yesterday, “The ranking is living proof that a lot still needs to be done and one way of doing so is by qualifying for next year’s CHAN in Sudan,” “Qualifying for CHAN is a big challenge not only for the coach but for all stakeholders in the game but we are optimistic that it will surely be achieved.” Despite losing out to England 3-1 in their last friendly, African champions Egypt are the highest ranked African team after moving up three places to 14th on the world rankings. World Cup-bound Cameroon is the only other African side in the world’s top 20. European champions Spain retained top spot while Portugal (4th) and England (7th) both improved their positions in the top 10. Brazil and the Netherlands also retained the second and third slots respectively. Most team slides in the rankings came about because points earned from World Cup qualifiers played in March 2009 lost their value. Top Ten Rankings: World: 1. Spain 2. Brazil3. Netherlands 4. Portugal5. Italy6. Germany7. England8. France9. Argentina10. Croatia Africa 14. Egypt 20. Cameroon 22. Nigeria 25. Côte d’Ivoire 27. Algeria 31. Ghana 43. Gabon 52. Burkina Faso 56. Tunisia 57. Mali Cecafa74. Uganda (16)107. Rwanda (25)109. Tanzania (26)114. Kenya (30)121. Sudan (33)123. Ethiopia (34)145. Burundi (39) 163. Eritrea (43)177. Somalia (49)190. Djibouti (50) Ends

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Rwanda drops in Fifa rankings