Gambia best movers in latest FIFA ranking

Gambia national team

The Gambia has gained a massive 27 places to rise from 163 to 136 in the latest Coca/Cola world rankings released by World Football governing body, FIFA, on Thursday.

Gambia, who are the best movers in this month’s ranking, is now 39th in Africa having improved from position 43 in the August ranking.

The impressive lift up the ranking was buoyed by the Scorpions’ 2-0 win at home to Tanzania in the sixth and final 2014 World Cup qualifier match played on September 7 at the Independence Stadium in Bakau courtesy of a Mustapha ‘Toubabo’ Jarju brace.

This is the Scorpions’ best ranking in more than a year after suffering several plummets since July 2012.

In the overall CAF ranking, Ivory Coast remains Africa’s top dog yet again though they fell from 18th to 19th globally. Ghana remains second after stagnating at position 24 in the overall table.

Record seven-time African Champions Egypt had one of the best improvements in shooting from position 61 to 50 which places them eight, up from eleventh in Africa.

According to FIFA, the 185 matches played in the past month have certainly left their mark on the current edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

In the top ten, only Spain’s ranking remains unchanged, and the world and European champions have managed to further extend their lead at the summit, where they have reigned since September 2011.

However, there has been a big shake-up just below pole position, where Argentina have ousted Germany out of second place after successfully qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Uruguay (7th, up 5) are also among this month’s climbers, making it back into the top ten at the expense of Portugal (11th, down 4). There are currently four South American teams in the top ten.

Belgium continue to rise up the global ladder. The Red Devils are unbeaten in their Brazil 2014 qualifying campaign and, with their current ranking of sixth, have once more reached their best-ever position.

There have been many changes, not just in the upper echelons of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, which have mainly been caused by the 86 FIFA World Cup qualifiers played in all of the confederations except the OFC over the past month.

Of the 820 total preliminary matches leading to Brazil 2014, 747 have unfolded, and nine teams – Japan, Australia, Iran, Korea Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, USA and Argentina – have secured places at the tournament alongside the host nation.

All matches played up to and including 10 September have been taken into account for the current edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

The current edition has taken the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision of 12 September 2013 on the Tunisia vs Cape Verde Islands match into account.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be released on 17 October.