The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Majuto Omary
18 May 2011
The national soccer team, Taifa Stars, have dropped five places in the latest edition of the Fifa world rankings.Stars, who made a giant leap last month by climbing nine places to 112, have now plunged to the 117th position.Lack of competitive games on the continent has denied Taifa Stars the opportunity to rise.
Taifa Stars have tested their strength against Mozambique and South Africa, and lost both matches. They were not recognised by Fifa though. Neighbouring Kenya gained points to climb one place to the 123 while Uganda continues to rule the East African region in the 84th position. Spain and the Netherlands continue to set the pace, some distance ahead of Brazil, Germany and Argentina. Major changes are also thin on the ground further down the ranking.
Among the top 25, only Chile (13th, up 1) and Japan (14th, down 1) have traded places.Meanwhile; The Fennecs of Algeria will be spending 12 days in Spain preparing for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Atlas Lions of Morocco in Marrakech.
Half way gone into the eliminatory, the group is still very tight with the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Morocco and Algeria all having four points but separated by a goal difference.
The clash between the two North African rivals will be crucial even though it may not have a direct impact on who qualifies from the group. Algerian coach Abdelhak Benchikha has picked 22 players for the camp in Spain.
Newcomers include Hilal Soudani, Azzedine Doukha (USM El Harrach) and Brahim Ferradj (Brest). He also recalled Adlene Guedioura (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Foued Kadir (Valenciennes) and Karim Matmour (Monchengladbach).
AllAfrica – All the Time