Ghana has moved up seven places in the first FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of the year. The Black Stars who finished second at the just ended African Nations Cup in Angola are now positioned 27th as the first ranking for this year was released today by FIFA. According to FIFA, the African Nations Cup has had a major impact on the ranking though Spain continue to occupy top spot ahead of Brazil and the Netherlands. On the African continent, Ghana after bagging 823 points are now placed fifth. New champions, Egypt after climbing 14 places in the overall rankings have assumed the top spot followed by Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast in that order. A total of 82 international “A” matches were taken into account for this edition of the ranking, 15 of which were played in 2009 (total of 849 “A” matches played in 2009). In addition to the 29 matches played in the Africa Cup of Nations, 11 continental qualifying matches and 42 friendlies were played. Source: Ghanafa.org