RWANDA HAS moved seven places up in the latest Fifa/Coca-Cola world rankings released yesterday in Zurich. Amavubi jumped from 116th to 109th globally after registering a 1-0 win over Gabon in last week’s international friendly match played in Kigali, which was among the 46 friendlies considered by Fifa for this month’s ranking. In Africa, Rwanda also improved five places from 35th to 30th position with Algeria extending their lead at the helm of the African rankings. Amavubi under Briton Stephen Constantine might jump into the top 100 should they eliminate Congo in the second round of the 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers. When Constantine took over Amavubi in May, Rwanda was ranked 131st in the world and after eliminating Libya in the first round qualifiers, Rwanda jumped to 116th. Rwanda faces Congo in the first leg of the second round qualifiers in Pointe-Noir on Sunday. Congo under Coach Claude Le Roy improved three places to 82nd. On July 27, Amavubi will play away to Gabon in a return leg of the Fifa international friendly game in Libreville. Les Pantheres of Gabon dropped four places to 93rd following their loss to Rwanda. In the region, Uganda maintains top spot despite dropping one slot to 87 worldwide and 20th in Africa while Kenya is second after improving 13 places to 93rd and 24th in Africa. Tanzania, third are ranked 106th globally and 29 in Africa, three places ahead of Rwanda while Ethiopia, Sudan and Burundi are ranked 110th, 115th and 126th respectively. Algeria is ranked first in Africa despite dropping two places to 24th globally, while Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast, and are second in Africa and 25th in the world. Nigeria is third in Africa and 34th in world rankings, while Ghana is 4th and 38th in Africa and world respectively. Four-time world champions Germany lead the table for the first time in around 20 years, followed by Argentina and the Netherlands. The Oranje’s third-place finish at the World Cup has propelled them 12 positions up the table and back into the top ten. Former champions Spain have fallen from the top spot to eighth place, while Portugal (11th), Italy (14th) and England (20th) have all dropped out of the top ten following their first-round exits. World Cup hosts Brazil, meanwhile, have dropped four places to seventh position.
