Rwanda rise in Fifa ranking

RWANDA has moved up four places to 110th in this month’s Fifa rankings released yesterday in Zurich, Switzerland. The results are contrary to local soccer pundits’ predictions that the country would drop after enduring an indifferent run in the qualifying campaign of the 2010 Africa Nations Cup in Angola. Rwanda, who needed a 2-0 goal margin to play in their next CAN crushed those dreams after being held to a goalless draw by the visiting Chipolopolo of Zambia. The result meant that Rwanda finished bottom of the group with two points. On the other hand, Zambia, who booked group C’s final qualification slot moved up six slots into 90th spot. Uganda continues to lead the Cecafa region at 78th place followed by Kenya (105) and Tanzania (106). Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions top the continent and also moved three places to 11th position on the globe. The leadership of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking has changed hands following the completion of the preliminary competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with European champions Spain overhauling Brazil, who have been at the top since July. Portugal (5th) and France (7th) have benefited greatly from the results of the World Cup play-off matches, which are valuable in terms of points, while the teams that qualified in October, Argentina (8th) and England (9th), have lost ground. Ivory Coast (16th), Algeria (28th), Latvia (45th), Burkina Faso (49th), Benin (59th), Montenegro (73rd) have also reached their highest ever position since the world ranking was introduced in 1993. Ends

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Rwanda rise in Fifa ranking