Senegal emerged as the number one African team in the latest and final Fifa ranking for 2019 which was released on Thursday.
The Teranga Lions coach Aliou Cissé believes it is the recompense for an “exciting year” during which they played the final of the Africa Cup of Nations won by Algeria.
“We are happy to end the exciting year on top. It is very encouraging and satisfying but at the same it comes with the pressure to do more in the New Year,” Cissé told ACLsports.
“We have the 2021 AFCON qualifiers upcoming, which is our main priority for the year and also the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. We need to strengthen our team to put up a better performance than in 2018 in Russia.
“Senegal are among the five top teams in Africa now and among the top 20 in the world, so we will work hard in the New Year to maintain that status.
“The Fifa ranking alone is not enough, you have to prove it on the pitch,” he said.
Tunisia and Nigeria complete the top three African teams on the ranking while Belgium, France and Brazil are the world’s three best.
