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Tanzania move up seven places in recent Fifa World Rankings
Taifa Stars players train at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Tanzania are now ranked 123rd in the last month released Fifa rankings as before that the country was ranked 130th
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania national football team (Taifa Stars)’s victory against Niger in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) has enabled them to go up in the latest Fifa World rankings.
Tanzania are now ranked 123rd as before that the country were ranked 130th. This means Tanzania have climbed seven places after collecting 1,138.79 points compared with 1, 126 points in the previous rankings.
Last month, Tanzania won 1-0 over Niger at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam to hold the second position with seven points in group F of the Afcon qualifiers.
Algeria are at the top of the group with 15 points and have already qualified for the next year’s Afcon finals in Ivory Coast. Taifa Stars need only a draw against Algeria in their last match in order to sail through to the finals for the third time in their history.
In the rankings, Fifa also have named Tanzania as among the four countries that have the biggest climb of all, despite being placed outside the top 100.
Other countries are Kazakhstan (104th, plus 8), Togo (122nd, plus 7) and Moldova (164th, plus 7), who have picked up 22.7 points, thanks in no small part to their shock 3-2 defeat of Poland in the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers, a match in which 148 places separated the two sides at kick-off.
In Africa, Tanzania are ranked in the 31st out of 54 countries. Morocco lead the rankings and are followed by Senegal and Tunisia. Other countries in the top 10 are Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. In East Africa, Tanzania are ranked third after collecting 1,138.79 points.
Uganda are still at the top with 1,246.17 points while Kenya are second after collecting 1,194.90 points. Rwanda are fourth with 1, 0889.46 points and Burundi in the fifth slot with 1,085.06 points. South Sudan are sixth with 983.35 points.
Recently, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) president Wallace Karia said their plan is to see the country go up the rankings for double digits.
He said they have strategic plans to ensure the country is gaining the highest standard in football development not only in Africa, but also in the world.
In the world football governing body's latest rankings, Argentina are at the top after collecting 1843.73 points. Nearly three months on from regaining top spot in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, La Albiceleste remain out front thanks to friendly wins over Australia and Indonesia.
The top three is also unchanged, with the reigning world champions staying ahead of France (2nd) and Brazil (3rd). There has been movement behind them. England (4th, plus 1) and Belgium (5th, minus 1) swap places, as do Croatia (6th, plus 1) and The Netherlands (7th, minus 1).
Newly crowned Concafaf Nations League champions USA (11th, plus 2) close in on the top 10, where Spain (10th) manage to remain thanks to their UEFA Nations League triumph. There have been some major moves further down the rankings.
While Wales (35th, minus 9) and Côte d’Ivoire (51st, minus 6) dropped places, Ukraine (24th, plus 6), Scotland (30th, plus 6) and Armenia (90th, plus 7) all move in the opposite direction.
Slovakia (46th, plus 5), Greece (49th, plus 3) and Mali (50th, plus 3) are back in the Top 50, while Mauritania (99th, plus 6) and India (100th, plus 1) both return to the top 100.
