Ghana’s Black Stars have slipped five places to 70th in the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking following a difficult opening to their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
The new ranking, released on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, places Ghana 14th among African nations, down from 65th in the previous update.
The Black Stars lost 25.73 ranking points following their recent results, with FIFA’s latest ranking calculated from 338 men’s international matches played since the 2026 FIFA World Cup ended on July 19.
The matches included fixtures from the UEFA and Concacaf Nations Leagues as well as AFCON qualifying games.
Ghana’s decline comes after consecutive defeats in their opening two AFCON qualifiers.
The Black Stars suffered a 2-0 loss to Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké before returning home to record another disappointing result, a 4-2 defeat to The Gambia.
The results have left Ghana without a point from their first two matches in the qualifying campaign.
The poor run also came during a difficult period for the team, contributing to the departure of Carlos Queiroz, who left his position by mutual agreement after recording just one victory in seven matches.
Ghana had also failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, adding to the pressure surrounding the national team.
The Black Stars will have an opportunity to recover some ground in November when they take on Somalia in back-to-back AFCON qualifying fixtures.
Somalia are currently ranked 200th in the world, meaning the two matches could provide Ghana with an opportunity to improve both their qualifying position and FIFA ranking.
At the top of the African rankings, Morocco remain the continent’s highest-ranked team despite dropping one place to seventh globally.
Senegal are second in Africa and 18th in the world, while Egypt occupy 25th position globally.
Algeria are ranked 28th, followed by Côte d’Ivoire in 29th and Nigeria in 30th.
The remaining teams in Africa’s top 10 are DR Congo, ranked 40th globally, Cameroon at 42nd, Mali at 47th and South Africa at 48th.
Globally, Spain continue to occupy the top position following their strong run after the World Cup.
Argentina remain second, with France third and England fourth.
Portugal moved up two places to fifth, while Brazil dropped to sixth in the latest rankings.
