FIFA will release the next rankings next week with Zimbabwe among a number of teams that recorded impressive results during the last round of matches played during a FIFA date last Wednesday.
Zimbabwe beat their northern neighbours 2-0 in a lively match played at Rufaro Stadium in Harare, the former’s favourite hunting ground.
Willard Katsande and Khama Billiat, who both play for the South African club side Ajax Cape Town, scored the goals for The Warriors to proclaim themselves the Kings of the Zambezi.
Prior to the match are now ranked joint 86th in the world out of a total of 203 ranked national teams.
“The win shows the team is on the right track and continues in its quest to reclaim its rankings of old,” a FIFA statement said.
Previously, a recent win over Mali in an African Nations Cup 2012 qualifier and an indifferent set of results from rivals in the rankings table meant Zimbabwe moved a place up the rankings, a development FIFA said was testament the sport was on a revival in the country after years of decline tied to the economic problems that battered Zimbabwe over the years.
The team has been on a steady rise since the beginning of this year and put their African Nations Cup 2012 campaign back on track.
The latest ranking, which the team shares with West African outfit Benin, is nonetheless a far cry from the 40th spot the team occupied for some time in 1995 during the ‘Dream team’ era when the team was under the tutelage of late German coach Reinhard Fabisch.
The team has another chance to improve its standings in the FIFA rankings table when they resume their quest to qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup with a home match against lower-ranked Liberia.
Post published in: Football