Battered Harambee Stars drop in Fifa rankings
Harambee Stars players attend a training session at Nyayo National Stadium on October 9, 2021 on the eve of their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying match against Mali.
What you need to know:
- The Engin Firat-coached side disappointed in two back-to-back 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches against Mali resulting in the slump in the rankings.
- In his first match, the Turkish coach oversaw an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Mali on October 7 in Agadir, Morocco.
Kenya’s Harambee Stars has dropped two spots to 104th in the latest Fifa World rankings announced on Thursday.
The Engin Firat-coached side disappointed in two back-to-back 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches against Mali resulting in the slump in the rankings.
In his first match, the Turkish coach oversaw an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Mali on October 7 in Agadir, Morocco.
The Malians sent Kenya packing from the World Cup qualification race after winning the return leg 1-0 in Nairobi on October 10.
Kenya went into the two fixtures having risen two places to 102nd in the world courtesy of a goalless draw against Uganda Cranes and 1-1 stalemate against Rwanda in September.
These four countries are in Group “E” which will see only the top side progress to the third and final round of the race to reach Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
Mali leads the group with 10 points, two ahead of Uganda, while Kenya and Rwanda have two points and one, respectively.
Mauritania is the beneficiary of Kenya’s fall in the global rankings after holding highly-rated Tunisia 0-0 on October 10 in a Group “B” match in Nouakchott. The Mauritanians are up two places to 102.
Senegal remains the top-ranked team in Africa at position 20 worldwide. Tunisia (down two places to 27th in the world), Morocco (four spots up to 29th), Algeria (stays 30th) and Nigeria (two places down to 36th) complete the first five countries on the continent.
Top-10 countries in the world are Belgium (stay top), Brazil (remain second), France (up one place to third), Italy (ascend one spot to fourth), England (two places down to fifth), Argentina (unmoved in sixth), Spain (climb one spot to seventh), Portugal (down one spot to eighth), Mexico (stay ninth) and Denmark (remain 10th).
Uganda leads in East and Central Africa (Cecafa) at position 82 globally after jumping four places. Kenya is next followed by Sudan (three places up to 123), Tanzania (up from 132 to 130), Rwanda (descend five places to 133), Ethiopia (down from 134 to 137), Burundi (stays 141), South Sudan (drops two places to 167), Djibouti (from 185 to 188), Somalia (remains 195th) and Eritrea (up one spot to 203).
