BLACK STARS: Fifa rankings are not true reflection of national team form – Augustine Arhinful

Former Black Stars striker Augustine Arhinful has criticized the validity of the current FIFA rankings, arguing that they fail to accurately represent the true form of national teams.

His comments come in light of Ghana’s persistent decline in the rankings over the past four updates, which he attributes to the team’s performance in major tournaments such as the African Cup of Nations and recent friendlies under coach Otto Addo.

Arhinful emphasized the importance of focusing on building a strong team rather than being fixated on FIFA rankings with Ghana occupying 14^th in Africa & 68^th in the World.

With Ghana’s upcoming matches against Mali and the Central African Republic in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers scheduled for June, he urged the current technical team to prioritize the development of a formidable squad.

Obviously, the ranking will tell you Ghana is dropping because of the recent happiness.

That is to say, the nation’s cup performance, as well as the recent friendly matches that we played.

But to me, the ranking really, really may be an issue for us.

I think we need to concentrate on how we build the team going forward, which is most important.

Because before the nation’s cup, Ghana was ranked ahead of some nations, but then we all went to Ivory Coast and we saw what those nations were able to do.

So the ranking, yes, sometimes could be good.

It could also make it complacent, because 2006, before the World Cup, I think Czech Republic were number two then.

But we went into the World Cup and we beat them, and they didn’t even qualify from the group stage.

So the ranking, yes, it could be good, but the focus should be how the team is going forward.

For me, as a former footballer, I don’t even know why you are going to play against a team and you are afraid to go and perform when you talk about the fear factor.

Because I guess the ranking, yes, could be good.

But what countries that have been so high, yet have gone into tournaments and have failed?

Belgium is one.

We can talk about Belgium.

Nigeria, the finalist in the recent TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, ascended to the 30th position globally, securing a spot among Africa’s top three, trailing closely behind Senegal and Morocco.

Leading the African standings, the Atlas Lions of Morocco hold the 13th rank worldwide, with Senegal following closely at 17th globally, securing second place on the continent.

Cote d’Ivoire, the reigning African champions, climbed to the 38th position globally, securing the fifth spot in Africa, just behind Egypt, who holds the 38th rank worldwide.

Tunisia and Algeria, the renowned North African teams, maintained their positions at 41st and 43rd respectively in the global rankings. Mali made significant progress, advancing three places to 44th.

At the top of the global standings are Argentina, reigning as world champions, trailed by France and Belgium in second and third place respectively.