World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana have returned as FIFA's top-ranked African football nation, placing an enormous burden on new Serbian manager Goran Stevanovic to sustain the number one position. The new rankings out this week marked the second time in the country's football history that Ghana has been ranked as Africa's number one.
"The new coach has come in when the bar has been raised and he must work hard and live up to expectations to ensure that Ghana remain the number one football nation in Africa," said Fred Pappoe, vice president of the Ghana Football Association. The west African nation edged Egypt to the top spot on the continental table released Wednesday by FIFA.
The Black Stars of Ghana accumulated 940 points after adding 16 more to become the continent's number one side and are now placed 15th on the world ranking table for February. Ivory Coast has moved into second with Egypt falling to third. South Africa, which hosted the 2010 World Cup, remained the highest-ranked team in the Cosafa region after moving up four places to number 47. World champions Spain still lead the overall standing followed by the Netherlands and Germany.
Pappoe said Ghana's ranking could give the team a mental edge. "Definitely the profile of the team will be enhanced by this new ranking. It will also boost the esteem and pride of the team," Pappoe said. "We have a very young and impressive team and ranking as the number one in Africa does not surprise me. What we need to do is to continue to keep the team in shape in order to maintain the position."
Ghana has lined up a friendly against their west African neighbours Togo next Tuesday in preparation for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Congo in March. The Black Stars will also play England for the first time in a friendly international at Wembley on March 29. Ghana dazzled at the World Cup finals in South Africa and missed out on the semi-finals in a heartbreaking loss to Uruguay.
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