Zambia moves to fourth position in African football
February 16th, 2012 - 9:32 pm ICT by IANSLusaka (Zambia), Feb 16 (IANS) Zambia, the 2012 African champions, have shot up from 16th to fourth position in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rankings as they also break into the top 50 in the world for the first time in 11 years after winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
Zambia moved 28 places in the FIFA world rankings, from 71st last month to 43rd after shocking many football pundits with superb football at Africa’s soccer showpiece football event co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon from Jan 21 to Feb 12.
On their way to be crowned African champions, Zambia beat Senegal 2-1, drew 2-2 with Libya and beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in the group stages before humbling Sudan 3-0 in the quarter-finals. They edged Ghana 1-0 in the semi-finals before beating a star-studded Cote d’Ivoire 8-7 on penalties in the final after a goalless draw in regulation time.
“Zambia has touched the sky of Africa. But Zambia has to touch the stars. It is a fantastic moment for Zambia. I am very proud to be with you at this time. But we have to be humble,” Herve Renard, the Zambian coach was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Cote d’Ivoire, despite losing the finals are number one in Africa, followed by Ghana and Algeria.
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- Ghana jumps in FIFA rankings - Jan 19, 2012
- Zambia not afraid of Senegal striker Demba Ba - Jan 06, 2012
- Zambian striker Kangwa's move to South Africa collapses - Feb 23, 2012
- Ghana names Maxwell Konadu as assistant coach - May 04, 2012
- Ghana president backs soccer team to fight back - Feb 17, 2012
- Angola to train in Brazil for Cup of African Nations - Dec 18, 2011
- Botswana, from 'whipping boys' to 'African team of year' - Dec 30, 2011
- Zambia retain football coach for three more years - Feb 18, 2012
- Equatorial Guinea,Nigerian footballers caught up in gender row - Nov 27, 2010
- Spain retain top spot in FIFA ranking - Apr 12, 2012
- (VM) Cote d'Ivoire name squad for African Cup of Nations - Jan 06, 2012
- Ghanaian Andre Ayew in race for African footballer award - Dec 23, 2011
Tags: africa cup of nations, african champions, confederation of african football, cote d ivoire, equatorial guinea, fifa world rankings, football caf, football event, football pundits, group stages, herve renard, jan 21, lusaka zambia, quarter finals, regulation time, semi finals, showpiece, sudan 3, superb football, xinhua