Sports
Renard Shuns Sinkala
Zambia’s coach, Herve Renard has left Germany-based midfielder Andrew Sinkala out of his squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola next month.
Sinkala had a recent dispute with the Football Association of Zambia (Faz) over payments for the players at a recent international match.
The 30 year-old was also left out of Zambia’s final 2010 qualifying match against Rwanda in November.
Also out is winger Jonas Sakuwaha, who refused the coach’s call-up.
He wants to consolidate his position at his French club side Lorient.
Renard did not want to divulge reasons for leaving out Sinkala but confirmed Sakuwaha asked to be excused.
“Sakuwaha refused to come because he has to renew his contract in January,” Renard said.
“We have a good squad but competition is still on.
“Three still have to be dropped, unfortunately that’s football so the players need to work hard.”
He urged his players to work hard and compete for places.
The Chipolopolo are scheduled to set up a two week camp in South Africa starting from Saturday before proceeding to Angola.
Zambia are in Group D alongside Gabon, Cameroon and Tunisia.
Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt contingent, comprising players, technical crew, backroom staff, and officials, depart the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos State on Wednesday, bound for Kinshasa, DR Congo.
The team is set to face FC Les Aigles du Congo in the first-round first-leg match of the CAF Champions League.
This was contained in a press release signed by the media officer of the club, Charles Mayuku and made available to Tidesports on Wednesday.
He said that the highly anticipated match is scheduled to take place at the 80,000-capacity Kinshasa-Complexe Omnisports Stade des Martyrs on morrow with kickoff slated for 3:30pm.
According to the statement the encounter marks the first-ever meeting between both sides in any competition, adding that an air of excitement and unpredictability to the fixture.
“As the Pride of Nigeria embarks on this crucial journey, the team is determined to return with a decent result that will set them up favorably for the second leg on Sunday, 28th September” the statement said.
The new rankings, released via FIFA’s official X handle on Thursday, reflect the team’s continued struggles under Coach Eric Chelle amid a stuttering 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
This marks a second consecutive decline after the Nigerian side dropped from 43rd to 44th in August on the back of poor outings in recent international matches.
Despite Nigeria’s setback, several African teams made progress. Morocco remains the continent’s highest-ranked side, sitting 11th in the world after winning eight of their last nine matches. Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Côte d’Ivoire complete Africa’s top five.
Lesotho slipped to 153rd place, while Benin Republic, Nigeria’s upcoming opponent, climbed to 93rd. South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who held the Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in June, rose to 55th, strengthening their bid for World Cup qualification.
Zimbabwe had the biggest slide down the ranking table, dropping nine places to 125th position in the world.
The rankings highlight Nigeria’s struggle to regain form on the global stage as key rivals continue to surge ahead.
Similarly, the Super Falcons of Nigeria remain 36th best in the world], while the Spanish female national team replaced the USA at the top of the women’s ranking.
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