By Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe senior national men’s football team has tumbled five places down the Fifa rankings following back-to-back defeats to Ghana a fortnight ago.
Ahead of the recent Fifa World Cup qualifiers against the Black Stars, the Warriors were ranked number 113 on world rankings, but after posting 3-1 and 1-0 defeats, they have slipped to position 118.
They are ranked just behind Thailand on 117 and Faroe Islands who are on 116.
Belgium maintained its spot at the summit ahead of Brazil, France, European champions, Italy and England who complete the top five.
The highest-ranked African team is Senegal, who sit on number 20 in the world, while Ghana, responsible for Zimbabwe’s latest slide, are ranked 52.
South Africa on 66 and Zambia on 87 are the two southern African nations that are ranked higher than Zimbabwe.
The Warriors are back in action early next month when they face South Africa and Ethiopia as they complete their Group G Africa World Cup qualifiers.
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They have since been eliminated from the running for a spot in the play-offs to determine the five African representatives at the World Cup finals in Qatar next year.
Interim coach Norman Mapeza, who has two matches left in his tenure before Zifa decides on who will preside over the team at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in January, hinted after the Ghana defeat that he would drop certain players in the matches against South Africa and Ethiopia.
Mapeza was roped in after Zifa sacked coach Zdravko Logarušic following a barren run.
And after the two defeats that condemned the Warriors out of contention, Mapeza said he was shifting focus to preparing the team for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
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