Why Ghana dropped in Fifa rankings

The veteran coach has given explanations as to why the Black Stars have seen a heavy drop in the Fifa rankings

Former Ghana international and coach Ibrahim Sunday insists the Black Stars deserve their drop in the Fifa rankings for the month of November.

Avram Grant's men moved eight places down from 45th position to 53rd, after going five games without a win which included the 2-0 defeat to Egypt in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

Before Grant took over from Kwesi Appiah in November 2014, Ghana were 33rd in the overall rankings and second in Africa but have gone 20 places down globally and a drop of seven places in Africa. It is also the first time the country has moved out of the top 50 since 2005.

"Ghana's performance has been awful that is why people want Avram Grant sacked. In the last five matches, Ghana have not won a single game so if we've dropped to 53rd position in the Fifa rankings I think it is right," Sunday told Goal.

"In football, whenever a team or country is not winning matches, the coach is the first person to be criticised but I think it is not only coaches that make teams win games. There are several departments in the team and each must play his or her role well.

"Let us also focus on the Black Stars players and their performance at their clubs. When you compare the era of Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Ali Muntari and the rest to this current crop of players, you would realise that the past players were playing for high-profile clubs in Europe. And they were not bench warmers also. Currently, almost half of our players don't start at their respective clubs and it is affecting the country in the qualifiers although the coach also has his issue.

"We have to encourage them to up their performance because sitting on the bench always affect their performance.

He added: "We should not blame Avram Grant only but the players are part of our problems. Their performance is nothing good to write home about since they are not regulars at club level."

Ghana will have an opportunity to move up in the rankings when they participate in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations after being pitted against Egypt, Mali and Uganda in Group E.