Egypt reach highest ranking since 1998

CAIRO (GoPharaohs.com) - Egypt achieved its highest FIFA Ranking in six and-a-half years on Wednesday, moving to 26th in the world for the month of July.

A recent string of victories under new manager Hassan Shehhata, which ended with a 2-0 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in a FIFA World Cup qualifier last month, helped catipult the Pharaohs to within one rank of the top 25. Egypt hasn’t been ranked this high since its 23rd overall rating in November of 1998.

Egypt’s best ranking was 17th in May of 1998, three months after the team’s triumph at the African Nations Cup in Burkina Faso. Its worst ranking came exactly five years later when it slipped to 44th in the world.

Egypt is also currently the number one ranked team in Africa according to FIFA. The position comes as little compensation for a football-mad nation that regularly finds itself in region’s toughest World Cup qualifying groups. Egypt will miss out on a fourth successive FIFA World Cup finals next year.

Africa Top 10

1. Egypt

2. Cameroon

3. Nigeria

4. Tunisia

5. Morocco

6. South Africa

7. Senegal

8. Cote d’Ivoire

9. Mali

10. Zambia