Avram Grant’s position as Chipolopolo’s coach has continued to weaken. The most recent FIFA ranking shows that he has led Zambia to its lowest point in the last two years.
Grant arrived in Zambia in 2022, and the team was ranked 88th in the world. A string of good results propelled the team to 81st place in October 2023, but things have since started to go south.
The team’s latest ranking is 90th, the lowest in two years.
After a dismal showing at the Africa Cup of Nations back in January, Zambia’s hopes of improving their standing on the FIFA rankings were in the March and June international window.
As of April, the team was ranked 86th, having recorded one win in two international friendly matches played during the four-nation tournament in Malawi in March.
Why Zambia dropped in the latest ranking
The World Cup qualifiers were the team’s next best chance to earn some points but back-to-back losses to Morocco and Tanzania have seen Grant’s team take a great fall.
Earlier this month, Zambia lost 2-1 to Morocco before losing 1-0 at home to Tanzania.
This has also seen the team drop to 18th in the African rankings.
Grant, whose contract is ending this December, would have hoped for a better ranking but he said he is never moved.
“To be honest, I don’t care about FIFA rankings. We may maintain our position or we may move three places away but that is not important,” Grant said in March.
Meanwhile, the top three have remained unchanged, with Argentina leading the pack, followed by France in second and Belgium in third.
Morocco are the highest-ranked African team, occupying 12th place, followed by Senegal, who are sitting in 18th place in the world.
Liberia are this month’s biggest climbers in the FIFA ranking after moving ten steps up from 152 to 142 in the world. This comes after recording a 1-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe and a 1-1 draw with Namibia in the World Cup qualifiers.
