The Black Stars of Ghana have moved one step up in the March edition of the Coca Cola FIFA ranking published by FIFA on Thursday, March 31, 2022 as a result of their performance in the just-ended FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs.
According to the recent raking, Ghana moved up to the 60th position from the 61st spot it occupied in February’s ranking. Despite moving up the ranking, Ghana still lies outside the top 10 best teams on the African continent due to the team’s abysmal performance in the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon earlier this year.
On the African continent, Ghana currently occupies the 11th position. The Teranga Lions of Senegal are number one in Africa and now the 20th best team in the world, two spots lower than the 18th position they occupied in February’s ranking.
Behind Senegal is Morocco which maintained its position as the second-best team in Africa and the 24th globally. Meanwhile, despite failing to qualify for the world cup, the Super Eagles of Nigeria moved up two places to rank 30th, up from the 32nd position they previously occupied and still maintained their position as the third-best team in Africa. Behind Nigeria are Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, respectively.
Globally, Brazil overtook Belgium to become the best team in the world whilst Belgium now dropped to the second place, previously occupied by Brazil. France, Argentina, England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and the Netherlands complete the list of the top 10 best teams in the world in that order. The best mover among the top ten is Mexico, which moved three places up in the latest ranking, up from the 12th position to the 9th spot.
The other countries that made the list from the 11th to 20th positions are Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland, USA, Croatia, Colombia, Wales, Sweden, and Senegal.
Ghana likely to face one of top 8 ranked teams in Qatar
FIFA disclosed in a statement that it will use the recent rakings to decide the Pot each of the qualified teams will be placed during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Draw in Doha, Qatar, on Friday, April 1, 2022. Based on the current ranking, Ghana will be in Pot 4 alongside fellow African, Cameroon. This means the Black Stars of Ghana are likely to be paired against one of the teams in Pot A which include host, Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal.
Mexico and the Netherlands will be in Pot 2 alongside Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Uruguay, Croatia, and USA. Again, chances are high that the Black Stars will meet Germany for the third time in the World Cup, having previously met twice, in 2010 and 2014. Germany has the upper hand, having won one match (1-0 in 2010) with the recent encounter in 2014 ending in a 2-2 draw, a match voted as the match of the tournament.
In line with FIFA’s directives, three African countries, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia will be placed in Pot 3 for the much-anticipated draw tomorrow alongside Iran, Japan, Poland, South Korea, and Serbia. Per FIFA’s regulations, two nations from the same Confederation cannot be in the same group for the 2022 World Cup except for UEFA, which has more than eight qualified teams. This means Ghana will probably meet either Iran, Japan, Poland, South Korea, or Serbia in the group stages of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November this year.
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