FIFA updated its rankings on Thursday 10 February. It is no surprise that Senegal, winner of the African Cup of Nations, remains number one in Africa and has gained two places in the world ranking. Algeria, on the other hand, has dropped down the rankings.
If the draw for the 2022 World Cup play-offs had been made after the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, African champions Senegal and runners-up Egypt would not have met. The two nations would not be fighting for a place in Qatar. For they would both be in pot 1, among the five best African teams in the FIFA ranking of February 2022.
More than a month after the last FIFA ranking (December 2021), the Lions of Teranga (18th in the world, 1,587 pts) are obviously still in first place in Africa. Egypt, for its part, has made a leap forward. Sixth on 23 December (1451 points), the Pharaohs are now fourth (1497 points), behind Nigeria (32nd, 3rd in Africa, 1509 points) and Morocco (24th, 2nd in Africa, 1547 pts).
Algeria drops from 29th to 43rd place
Algeria, on the other hand, has dropped out of the top 5. The Fennecs would have been pot 2 in the play-offs for the 2022 World Cup. Third in December 2021 (1516 pts), Djamel Belmadi's team is now 7th (1460 pts). On the world stage, it has fallen from 29th to 43rd place.
As expected, Gambia has made a big jump. The Scorpions are now 33rd in Africa and 125th in the world. This ranking would have allowed them to avoid going through the preliminaries for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Because at the time of the draw, Gambia was 46th on the continent and 150th in the world.
