Sihlangu maintain poor rank

MBABANE – In reaction to the FIFA men’s rankings, national team Head Coach Dominic Kunene has realised the need to fight for better ranks.

Kunene was reacting to FIFA’s first ranking of the year, released yesterday. Eswatini are ranked 149th out of the 210 nations, who appear in the global rankings. This is the same rank attained when the charts were last released on December 21, 2023.

“There isn’t much we expected since we were inactive, but the challenge still remains the same. As a national team, we must fight to lift up the country from its current rank to a respectable position,” he said briefly.

Sihlangu are the 45th best team out 53 nations that appear in the continent ranks.

Best

Notably, Morocco still holds the best spot in the continent, while neighbours South Africa (SA) moved to the 10th spot, after winning bronze in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last week. Meanwhile, Eswatini are ranked 12th out of the 14 Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) nations.

Best ranking are essential for seeding in tournaments and qualfiers, where most often, better ranked national teams do not play preliminary rounds.

It is worth noting that the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) last month reinforced the national team’s technical bench. Former Royal Leopard and then Under-23s gaffer Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane and Green Mamba’s mentor Ernest Mavuso were appointed temporary assistants of the former Young Buffaloes coach.

At the end of next month, EFA is expected to appoint a new coach to lead the nation’s pride, bringing to an end Kunene’s tenure of over four years.