HARARE —
Zimbabwe's Warriors have crashed heavily down the Coca Cola FIFA World rankings released Thursday afternoon.
The Warriors have fallen a staggering 12 places down the ladder and are now number 114, down from their last ranking of 102.
This follows their poor performance in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in which they lost two matches in space of one week - 4-2 to Egypt and 1-0 to Guinea. The results sank the Warriors to their second worst world ranking since Zimbabwe was admitted to international sport in 1980.
Their worst ranking remains 131 in 2009 after failing to qualify for both the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals which were held in Angola.
The latest rankings have also seen Zimbabwe crashing for the first time this year out of the top 30 teams in African football. The Zimbabweans are way back the perking order in position 31 with Ivory Coast still the top team in Africa.
The latest development does not augur well for the Warriors as the Confederation of African Football will soon be conducting the draw for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Teams that are down the world ladder in Africa are not seeded in the Nations Cup draw and Zimbabwe risks being drawn against top teams on the continent.
Spain are still the top football team in the world but Brazil is the biggest winner, moving 13 places up the ladder.
The World Cup hosts are now ninth in the world, thanks to their victory in the just ended FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Warriors have fallen a staggering 12 places down the ladder and are now number 114, down from their last ranking of 102.
This follows their poor performance in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in which they lost two matches in space of one week - 4-2 to Egypt and 1-0 to Guinea. The results sank the Warriors to their second worst world ranking since Zimbabwe was admitted to international sport in 1980.
Their worst ranking remains 131 in 2009 after failing to qualify for both the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals which were held in Angola.
The latest rankings have also seen Zimbabwe crashing for the first time this year out of the top 30 teams in African football. The Zimbabweans are way back the perking order in position 31 with Ivory Coast still the top team in Africa.
The latest development does not augur well for the Warriors as the Confederation of African Football will soon be conducting the draw for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Teams that are down the world ladder in Africa are not seeded in the Nations Cup draw and Zimbabwe risks being drawn against top teams on the continent.
Spain are still the top football team in the world but Brazil is the biggest winner, moving 13 places up the ladder.
The World Cup hosts are now ninth in the world, thanks to their victory in the just ended FIFA Confederations Cup.