SIHLANGU DROP IN FIFA RANKINGS, NOW POSITION 144

MBABANE – Eswatini has dropped a spot in the latest FIFA rankings, after being updated for the first time this year.

The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) released the latest standings on Thursday. The rankings are consequent to the conclusion of the FIFA break, which was towards the end of last month. During this break, the Dominic Kunene-led Eswatini national team, Sihlangu played two games under the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 Qualifiers. Sihlangu played to a goalless draw and lost 1-0 to Cape Verde in back-to-back group B fixtures. In the previous rankings of December 22, 2022, which came after the FIFA World Cup, Sihlangu got the 143rd rank but this time around dropped to the 144th.

Dropped

Reigning world cup champions Argentina climbed to the top spot for the first time in six years, toppling Brazil, who dropped to third place behind runners-up France. Meanwhile, Morocco who made history to become Africa’s first-ever World Cup semi-finalist occupy the first spot in Africa and 11th globally. The current rating of 144 out of 211 football nations for Sihlangu is still considered better, as the lowest has been 190 while the highest has been 88. Around the same month last year, Eswatini was ranked 143rd.

The current rank also puts the country on the 42nd spot out of 54 countries in the continent and on the 11th rank in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA). The likes of Lesotho and Botswana are behind Eswatini as the three are the lowest ranked in the COSAFA. A better ranking helps in terms of seeding during draws of major competitions. Best-ranked teams usually find themselves not playing tournaments’ preliminary rounds. Meanwhile, Sihlangu mentor, Kunene appreciated the rankings and said they would leave the entire team with the challenge to strive for the best rank.

“We usually say rankings are good for players because we believe they motivate them while leaving them with the challenge of improving, together with the technical team.‘‘They are a call to action to maximise some effort as you know that it’s every coach’s dream to get the best ranks during their tenure,” Kunene said. Sihlangu will be back in action in June against Togo, during the AFCON Group B qualifiers while they are expected to also participate in the COSAFA tournament in July.

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