Major shake-ups in FIFA rankings
Staff Writer | Friday September 19, 2025 10:55
Botswana has been making steady progress up the rankings, after the national team was ranked 150 last year, but had managed to claw 15 places up before the latest release.
However, the two defeats have proved damaging to both their hopes of progressing in the qualifiers as well as their climb up the ladder.
World Cup qualification is now out of the equation, and the rankings, which form part of coach Morena Ramoreboli's targets, had been improving until the latest setback.
On the continent, the Zebras remain at number 40, 10 places off the Botswana Football Association target that was presented to Ramoreboli.
The FIFA rankings saw a shake-up in the established order as Spain returned to the summit, replacing world champions Argentina.
France moved to second, whilst the South Americans have dropped to third.
Morocco, at number 11, are Africa's top-ranked side, whilst Senegal are second, as they occupy position 18 in the world.
The month's biggest climbers were Slovakia, which moved 10 places after gaining 25.31 points to number 42, whilst Zimbabwe came out worst, after dropping nine places to number 125.
Canada attained its highest ever rank as the team is now placed at number 25, whilst the Central African Republic lost the highest number of points (-26.18) during the period under review.
The next rankings update will take place on October 23, after the international break, when the Zebras play Guinea and Uganda in World Cup qualifiers.