THE current Fifa world rankings paint an interesting picture ahead of the 2022 Cosafa Women's Championship that will be held from August 31-September 11.
Only two of the competing regional sides are in the top 100 in the world, but that does not reflect the current quality of the field with the rankings determined over a four-year period and barely taking into account the rapid improvement in many teams.
Group C, which contains defending champions Tanzania, last year's runners-up Malawi, recent 2022 Wafcon quarterfinalists Botswana and Comoros has, quite rightly, been dubbed the 'Group of Death'.
Three of those sides are among the top seven ranked teams in Nelson Mandela Bay and with only one guaranteed qualification for the semifinals, it will be a huge bunfight.
Perhaps not surprisingly current African champions South Africa are the top-ranked side at number two on the continent and 54 in the world.
Zambia, who finished third at the recent continental championships in Morocco, are second on the list at number 10 in Africa – a figure that will surely rise in the coming years – and 80 in the world.
Then come Angola (24 in Africa, 141 in the world), who are in Group A with South Africa and drew 0-0 with Banyana Banyana at last year's championships.
They are followed by Namibia (26, 146), who contest Group B with Zambia, and then the trio of Group C sides – Botswana (28, 151), Tanzania (29, 155) and Malawi (30, 158).
The lowest ranked side in the competition are Mauritius (44, 185), who return for the first time since 2019 and could give their numbers a major boost with a good tournament. – Cosafa
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