Kwesi Appiah’s reign as Ghana coach will begin with the Black Stars ranked the 45th best national soccer team in the world.
This follows the West African’s two-place slump on the latest Fifa World Ranking released for the month of April on Thursday.
Named new Ghana coach on Tuesday, Appiah, who’s two-year tenure begins from May 1, picks up the team at the same position left by predecessor Avram Grant in February, despite the team’s climbing up to 43 in March.
Notwithstanding the two-place fall on the latest ranking, the Black Stars still hold the eighth position in Africa ahead of Cote d’Ivoire (48) and Morocco (53).
Egypt (19) still lead the pack on the continent, while Senegal (30), 2017 Afcon champions Cameroon (33), Burkina Faso (35), Nigeria (40), DR Congo (41) andTunisia (42) make up the top seven in that order.
On the world table, Brazil’s fine form has seen them overthrow Argentina at the top, while Germany, Chile and Colombia follow La Albiceleste closely in that order.
France, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain, in that sequence, complete the top 10.
Ghana’s highest ever performance since the ranking’s introduction in August 1993 remains a 14th place in February 2008, while their worst placement was an 89th position in June 2004.
The Black Stars’ last assignment was at the 2017 Afcon in Gabon, where they finished fourth after losing 1-0 to Burkina Faso in the third-place playoff.
The team returns to action in the 2019 Afcon qualifiers in a home fixture with Ethiopia in June.
The next edition of the ranking will be published on May 4.
goal.com
