Posted by By Morakinyo Abodunrin on
The recently concluded Caf Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana has clearly left its mark on the latest Fifa World Ranking.
The recently concluded Caf Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana has clearly left its mark on the latest Fifa World Ranking.
While there have been no changes at the top as Argentina, Brazil and Italy remain out in front with just a few points separating them, two African teams - Ghana (14th, up 29) and Cameroon (17th, up 8) - have broken into the top 20.
However, Nigeria has dropped 26 places down to 46th, after failing to meet expectations at the Cup of Nations and have gone from being the top African side in the ranking to only the continent's sixth best.
Fellow Cup of Nations semi-finalists Egypt (29th, up 6), who went on to successfully defend their title, and Ivory Coast (24th, up 14) have also made progress up the ranking.
Furthermore, Ghana's 14th place represents an all-time best and makes them Africa's top-ranked team of the moment.
The biggest movers in February are all inside the top 100, namely Australia (38th, up 10), Latvia (72nd, up 13), Bahrain (83rd, up 17), Thailand (92nd, up 15) and Guatemala (94th, up 11).
Ghana are not the only team to have achieved their best-ever position since the ranking was introduced in August 1993, as they are joined by Greece (10th, up 1), Moldova (49th, up 4), New Caledonia (115th, up 2) and the Turks and Caicos Islands (158th, up 21).