Flames drop on Fifa rankings
Malawi National Football Team is the only one of the teams that participated in the recent Four Nations Tourney in Lilongwe to slump on the latest Coca-Cola World Fifa rankings released yesterday.
The Flames have dropped to position 125 from 122 in the world and 33rd in Africa in the rankings released by the world football governing body.
Malawi lost 4-0 to tournament winners Kenya’s Harambee Stars in the Four Nations Tournament semi-finals before going down 2-1 to Zambia in the competition’s third place play-off.
Harambee Stars, who won the tournament after beating Zimbabwe in the final, have moved four steps up to 107.
Zimbabwe, who made it to the final after seeing off Zambia on post-match penalties after a two-all draw in regulation time, are up two steps to position 122.
Zambia’s Chipolopolo, on the other hand, have moved a step up to 86th in the rankings after beating Malawi 2-1 in the third-place play-off.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions and communications director Gomezgani Zakazaka said the Flames’ performance in the Four Nations Tournament affected the team’s rankings.
He said: “The Four Nations Tournament matches counted when considering these Fifa rankings.”
A total of 174 matches, spanning all four corners of the globe, were played during the Fifa March international break, according to a statement from Fifa.
The statement reads: “Asian teams were involved in various formats, including Fifa World Cup 26 qualifiers, whereas the Concacaf zone witnessed the final phase of the Nations League. There were also several friendly matches in each of the six confederations as part of the Fifa Series 2024. These matches have had a significant effect on the Fifa Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, most notably within the top 10.”
Meanwhile, the world’s top 10 remains unchanged with Argentina still the best team in the world ahead of France (2nd), Belgium (3rd), England (4th), Brazil (5th), Portugal (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Spain (8th), Italy (9th) and Croatia (10th).
Morocco is still the best team in Africa ahead of Senegal (2), Nigeria (3), Egypt (4), Côte d’Ivoire (5), Tunisia (6), Algeria (7), Mali (8), Cameroon (9) and South Africa (10).
