Ghana have dropped five places to 70th in the latest FIFA World Rankings following a difficult start to their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
The Black Stars fell from 65th after losing 25.73 ranking points, with defeats in their opening two AFCON qualifiers contributing significantly to the decline.
Ghana are now 14th among African nations in the rankings released on Wednesday.
The latest standings were calculated from 338 men’s international matches played since the 2026 Fifa World Cup final on 19 July, including fixtures from the UEFA and Concacaf Nations Leagues and the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.
Ghana’s ranking has been particularly affected by their poor start to qualifying.
They opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat by Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké before losing 4-2 to The Gambia at home.
The two defeats have left Ghana without a point from their first two matches and put them under early pressure in their bid to reach the next Africa Cup of Nations.
The poor run also brought an end to Carlos Queiroz’s time as Black Stars coach. The Portuguese manager left by mutual agreement after recording just one win in seven matches.
The latest ranking setback adds to a difficult period for Ghana, who also failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Their next opportunity to change the direction of the campaign will come in November, when they face Somalia in back-to-back qualifying matches.
Somalia are currently ranked 200th in the world, giving Ghana an opportunity to earn valuable points and recover some ground in the FIFA rankings if they can secure positive results in both games.
Morocco remain Africa’s highest-ranked side, sitting seventh in the world. Senegal are second on the continent in 18th place globally, while Côte d’Ivoire have climbed to 29th.
Nigeria have fallen four places to 30th.
For Ghana, the focus now is less on their position in the rankings and more on getting their AFCON qualifying campaign back on track. The November matches against Somalia could prove important in determining whether the Black Stars can recover from their disappointing start.
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