Former Zambia National team defender Hichani Himoonde says the national team players have a task to improve Zambia’s FIFA ranking, saying the loss to Mozambique in both home and away fixtures in the AfCON qualifiers contributed to the downward mobility in ranking.

Himoonde also said that to successfully improve Zambia’s ranking, players must not hold on to past failures and successes but work extra hard to make the new records for the country.

In an interview with Goal Diggers! the former Power Dynamos defender noted that football comparisons only created rivalry as opposed to finding solutions in instances that the national team was not doing well.

“It is the national team’s duty to improve the country’s football ranking. They are the ones playing and I am positive that they understand this. This does not mean that they should be miserable although the ranking dropped because of their home and away losses to Mozambique in AfCON qualifiers. Comparing current and former rankings cannot solve anything, in fact it can only create rivalry among players,” Himoonde cautioned.

The Zambia national team dropped five places on the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings to rank 82nd in the world thereby recording its worst ranking for the year 2018. Statistics released by FIFA, Wednesday, indicated that Zambia is 17th on the continent and 82nd on the globe.

Meanwhile, Mozambique who beat Zambia in both AfCON qualifier encounters benefitted from their win and notably ascended on FIFA ranking and moved five places up the table.