Zebras shoot up in FIFA Rankings

BOITUMELO KHUTSAFALO
Staff Writer | Friday July 5, 2013 00:00

 

They have shot up 11 places up the ladder, thanks to the two victories against Central African Republic (CAR) and Ethiopia in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers last month. Zebras are now ranked 116th in the world and 33rd in Africa.The Zebras were awarded a 3-0 victory against Ethiopia by the world football governing body after Ethiopia admitted to using a defaulter in that match. The match had initially ended 2-1 in favour of Ethiopia. The following weekend, they took on CAR and staged a comeback to win 3-2.

At the time of the victory against CAR, Zebras were out of the qualifiers. Only South Africa and Ethiopia had a chance and were playing the next day. Ethiopia won 2-1 at home before reports emerged about their use of ineligible player. FIFA has now given both the Zebras and South Africa a chance to reach the next round of the qualifiers.

However, a win for Ethiopia in the last match against CAR would be enough to shatter both Bafana Bafana and Zebras' dreams. The Zebras left for the COSAFA Cup tournament yesterday in which they have been pitted against Kenya, Lesotho and Swaziland in Group B. They start the campaign against Swaziland this Sunday.Meanwhile, Spain retained their position at the top of the rankings despite suffering 3-0 at the hands of Brazil at the just-ended Confederations Cup in Rio de Janeiro. The victory for Brazil has helped them move 13 places up the rankings.

They are now ranked ninth in the world, behind Spain, Germany, Columbia, Argentina, the Netherlands, Portugal and Croatia in that order.Brazil finished the tournament undefeated, winning all their five matches. Before the tournament, they defeated European giants, France in a preparatory friendly. Ivory Coast remains the best-ranked team in Africa followed by Ghana and Mali. The next FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings will be released on August 8.