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THE complexity of the FIFA rankings came into question again yesterday when the Zimbabwe Warriors plunged down the ladder despite the team distinguishing itself in holding Algeria at the 2017 Nations Cup finals. The Warriors, who were drawn in the so-called Group of Death that featured Senegal, Algeria and Tunisia, finished bottom of their group, but were not the worst performing nation in Gabon.
Despite the points they should have picked by holding Algeria, who were highly-rated at the time, especially at such a big tournament, the Warriors actually lost points for their show in Gabon in what should be a puzzle in the way the rankings are compiled.
Zimbabwe dropped two places down the table into 105th place on the FIFA rankings.
Ironically, the two teams which the Warriors destroyed on their way to the 2017 Nations Cup finals — Malawi and Swaziland — remained ranked higher than Zimbabwe. The two countries have virtually been inactive since they leaked seven goals, in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers against Zimbabwe, in June last year.
Both Malawi and Swaziland fired their coaches in the wake of their doomed Nations Cup qualifying campaign. Swaziland, who crashed to a 0-4 defeat at the hands of the Warriors in that match, rose one place up the ladder to 98th place on the FIFA rankings.
Namibia, who failed to qualify for the 2017 Nations Cup finals, rose one place up the ladder into 99th place on the FIFA rankings. AFCON hosts Gabon, who like the Warriors were knocked out in the group stages despite being the home team, without a win to their credit, rose 21 places up the ladder into 87th place.
The five top ranked African nations are Egypt, who finished as the runners-up in Gabon, Senegal, who beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in a group match, Cameroon, who won the tournament, Tunisia, who beat Zimbabwe 4-2 in a group game and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Online Reporter