Football governing body FIFA has announced the first rankings of 2019 with Uganda dropping by two places to position 77 and 16 in Africa.
The drop comes due to an inactive time with the Cranes not playing any competitive matches for almost two months.
Neighbours Kenya also dropped by one place to 106, while Uganda’s next 2019 Afcon qualifiers opponent Tanzania improved by one slot to 137, Burundi came at 138 and Rwanda also improved by two slots to 135.
The top five countries in Africa remain unchanged; Senegal (24), Tunisia (28), Morocco (43), Nigeria (46) and Congo DR (51).
Belgium, France, Brazil, Croatia, and England also remain unchanged as the best five countries respectively in the world.
Newly crowned Asian champions Qatar have climbed to 55th in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, gaining 38 places – and reaching their best position since 1993 – on the back of their stunning success in UAE.
North Korea were the worst movers, dropping down by 12 ranks.
The format used by FIFA is named “SUM” as it relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the World Ranking.
The points which are added or subtracted are partially determined by the relative strength of the two opponents, including the logical expectation that teams higher in the ranking should fare better against teams lower in the ranking.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 4th April 2019.