FIFA Rankings: Harambee Stars Drop Following Disappointing Draw with Eritrea

Kenya’s 1-1 draw with Eritrea in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier has had a huge bearing on their FIFA rankings.

Harambee Stars avoided a home embarrassment when Ryan Ogam scored late to nick a point from the jaws of defeat as Eritrea looked on course to win in Nairobi on Saturday.

Playing in front of their fans, Benni McCarthy’s men struggled to breach Eritrea, whose 19-year-old goalkeeper Yonathan Sultan pulled off a number of top saves before Ogam finally found a way past him.

The result was not what Kenyans were hoping for and it has also proved costly in Harambee Stars’ FIFA rankings.

From the latest update, Kenya has dropped four places from position 109 to 113 with 1,178.62 points. The draw against Eritrea saw Kenya lose 6.46 points which contributed to the drop in rankings.

This is largely down to the fact that they failed to beat a lowly-ranked team as Eritrea had been placed at position 184 when the two sides faced off. However, the Red Sea Camels did not see an improvement in their ranking as they remained at 184.

Meanwhile, in East Africa, Tanzania also dropped, Taifa Stars going down three places to position 115, following their 2-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau in their AFCON qualifier.

Uganda remains the highest ranked country in the region at position 88, having moved up one place, thanks to their 1-1 draw away to Tunisia.

Meanwhile, Morocco is the top country in Africa after breaking into the top five globally as they sit in fifth position behind fourth-placed England, with Spain, Argentina and France occupying the first three positions in that order.

Harambee Stars have a chance to boost their rankings on Wednesday if they secure a positive result against Guinea, who are in position 82 in the world.