Rwanda has dropped 13 places, from 78th to 91st , in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking released on Thursday at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The slip comes is largely due to the U-23 side’s 2-0 defeat away to South Africa July 28 during a friendly match. Amavubi also slipped from 20th to 24th in Africa while Uganda retain the top spot in the CECAFA region, ranking 19th in Africa and 74th globally. The ranking could even dip further for Rwanda if the Junior Wasps lose their next international friendly against DR Congo set for August 29 in the capital Kinshasa. Sudan (87th worldwide) leapfrogged Rwanda to become the second highest ranked country in the CECAFA region, while the rest ranked lowly, with Ethiopia coming in 99th position globally, Kenya 116th, Burundi 132nd, Tanzania 140th, South Sudan 195th , Eritrea 203rd, Somalia 204th and Djibouti 206th. Algeria, ranked 19th in the world, still lead Africa with reigning African champions Ivory Coast unmoved in the 21stposition. Ghana, Tunisia and Senegal complete Africa’s big five and rank 27th, 34th, and 39th , globally, respectively. This month’s world ranking shows a slight change in the top three, with Belgium moving one place up into second and swapping places with Germany, while Argentina remains the world’s top ranked team. A little below them, Chile moved one spot up into 10th at the expense of the Netherlands who are now in 12th place. The loss of points by world champions Germany and the 2014 World Cup second runners up Netherlands is linked to the devaluation of last year’s FIFA World Cup matches. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
