Zimbabwe are now placed 26th in Africa and have dropped from 104 to 106 in the world standings, a major concern for Zimbabwean football fans.
This comes as a result of the Warriors disappointing 1-0 loss at the hands of Guinea in a 2014 World Cup qualifier in which football fans went on a rampage throwing missiles at their own team.
That result was instrumental in the Warriors’ fall from grace though they have two very important matches to redeem lost pride before the next rankings are updated in July.
Zimbabwe this week play Mozambique in a 2014 World Cup qualifier before engaging Burundi at home in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations match in which Zifa Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Mashingaidze, has confirmed will be played at the National Sports Stadium.
The defeat against Guinea comes hard on the heels of losses against Cape Verde and Burundi and this has not done good to Zimbabwean football’s reputation.
Zimbabwe’s conquerors, Guinea, are 67th in the world and 14th in Africa while reigning African champions, Zambia, have slipped two rungs down to sixth position.
Ivory Coast, who lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Zambia in January, remain Africa’s leading football team ahead of Ghana and Algeria and are also placed 16th in the world.
World rankings are very important especially when teams are being seeded for international competitions. Spain continue their stranglehold of international football as they are still top of world football and could continue their lead as they are expected to garner more points in the European Championships which are starting in Poland and Ukraine over this weekend.
They are closely followed by Uruguay, while German who qualified for the European Championships without losing a game, are in third place.
Post published in: Football