FIFA has unveiled the latest rankings for women’s national teams, and while the top three positions remain unchanged with the United States, Germany, and Japan leading the pack, there are notable advancements worth mentioning, particularly for South Africa.
Despite a somewhat disappointing performance in the Olympic tournament, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana have made progress in the recent FIFA/Coca-Cola football team rankings. The team, led by Portia Modise, credits this advancement to their commendable draw against Japan during the women’s Olympic tournament. Despite being eliminated after two consecutive defeats, South Africa’s resilience in securing a draw against the tournament finalists contributed to their rise in the rankings. With a gain of five places, South Africa is now within sight of the African podium but still trails behind Ghana, ranking 3rd in Africa and 51st globally.
Cameroon, the other African representative in London, maintains its position in the rankings without any change, holding the second spot among African nations and ranking 50th worldwide, despite facing three defeats in as many matches.
Nigeria, despite not participating in the Olympic Games, continues to hold the top position among African nations, securing the 27th spot globally. Another noteworthy development in the rankings is Equatorial Guinea’s ascent into the top 5, displacing Ivory Coast to 6th place. This change comes ahead of Equatorial Guinea hosting the upcoming African Women’s Football Cup of Nations. Further down the list, North African nations, namely Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, claim the 7th, 8th, and 9th positions, respectively. Senegal, having gained one place, completes the African Top 10 in the rankings.
On the global stage, the United States solidifies its leading position, nearing its personal record of points (2,233 in May 2010) and approaching the all-time record held by Germany (2,234 points in 2005). Conversely, the Japanese, reigning world champions, experience a loss of points despite reaching the tournament final, mainly due to their draw against South Africa. This setback causes them to lose ground to Germany, who maintains the second spot. Three teams—Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan—are no longer ranked, having not played a match in the last eighteen months. However, Antigua and Barbuda rejoin the rankings at 126th place, bringing the total number of ranked teams to 127.
