John Keister’s men stepped thirty places up in July’s football rating released by the world football governing body (FIFA).
Previously ranked 113 in the world, the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone for the first time this year moved up to become the 83rd best team and impressively the (17th) seventeen best in Africa ahead of two AFCON Group F opponent Kenya and Ethiopia.
Following their 2-1 win over Kenya in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations first leg qualifying tie in Freetown on June 10 they are also back in Africa’s top twenty best nations.
Sierra Leone next international outing is a home and away contest against Senegal.
The local Leone Stars will start their quest to reach Kenya 2018 when they take on the Teranga Lions of Senegal in the first leg qualifiers next weekend before travelling to Dakar for the return fixture the following week.
The CHAN – is a tournament for locally-based African players featuring in their own country’s domestic leagues – will be staged in Kenya from 12 January to 4 February 2018.
The winner of the double-legged tie will face the winners of the Guinea-Bissau and Guinea clash in the second round with the first leg billed to take place between 11 and 13 August, and those of the return leg the following weekend.
Meanwhile, Germany have returned to the top of the pile for the first time in two years following their Confederation Cup triumph with Brazil and Argentina sitting in second and third place respectively.
Brazil and Argentina are 2nd and 3rd respectively with Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Chile, Colombia, France and Belgium making up the top ten teams in the world in that order.
Africa’s Top 20
1. Egypt 2. Senegal 3. Congo DR 4. Tunisia 5. Cameroon
6. Nigeria 7. Burkina Faso 8. Algeria 9. Ghana 10. Côte d’Ivoire 11. Mali 12. Morocco 13. South Africa 14. Guinea 15. Uganda 16. Mauritania 17. Sierra Leone 18. Kenya 19. Guinea-Bissau 20. Congo
The next Fifa/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 10 August 2017.
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