2015: Worst in the World Year in Review

2015 may not have been a year of many Worst in the World matches but it has seen a raft of changes to those struggling at the wrong end of the FIFA rankings. The year began with just Bhutan cut adrift from the other 208 members of FIFA as the lone, and therefore undisputed, worst national team in the world, with no ranking points and little hope.

Henok Goitom: Eritrea’s Great Hope

Even in the years before the more recent migration crises, there has been a steady drift of migrants from Africa, and East Africa in particular, to Europe. Sweden has accepted a number of migrants over the years, and in recent news were the first to take in a number of Eritrean migrants under the rather controversial EU quote scheme.

One son of an earlier migrant to Sweden from Eritrea is Henok Goitom, a striker with quite a successful career in some of Europe’s top leagues, who now plays for AIK Solna, his home town team, in Sweden’s Allsvenskan top division.

Tonga: South Pacific Struggles

The Polynesian islanders of Tonga have never before featured at the bottom of the FIFA world rankings, though they have more than once had a bearing on matters relating to the worst in the world.

Back in the Oceania zone qualifying rounds for the 2002 World Cup, Tonga were pitched into an opening group with the regional might of Australia, among a few other Pacific island nations. Tonga suffered the ignominy of a world record defeat for an international match, going down 22-0 to the rampant Socceroos.

Somalia: The Ocean Stars seeking to rise from ruin

Through all of the troubles that Somalia has been through in the last couple of decades, the fate of their national football team, The Ocean Stars, was something of an irrelevance. That they recently sunk to the lowest rung of world football’s ladder is as much an indictment of the difficulties that had gone before then it is an assessment of the current crop of Somali players.

Their only recent action was in losing both legs of their World Cup qualifying first round tie with Niger, crashing out 6-0 on aggregate. The venue of their “home” leg tells the story of their problems.

Eritrea: The Red Sea Camels

“I will name new faces from inside and outside the country to join the ‪Eritrean‬ National squad during the coming days, as they will help the team to continue winning.” These were the hopeful words of the Eritrean national team coach, Alemseged Efrem, earlier this year ahead of the first round of African World Cup qualification.

His contention that Eritrea could “keep winning” was a rather rose-tinted one.

Three New Members Confirmed: Worst in the World Club of Six

The release of a new set of FIFA world rankings is often a predictable day for the Worst in the World club. Frequently it’s merely a case of confirming another month added on to the tally of those stuck stranded at the bottom of the world. There is the occasional glorious escape confirmed, and the odd descent to the lowest rung decided.

CECAFA Cup 2015: Djibouti 0-4 Sudan

Friday 27th November 2015
CECAFA Cup Group C
Bahir Dar Stadium, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Djibouti 0-4 Sudan

A hat-trick from Sudanese striker Athar El-Tahir consigned Djibouti to their third successive defeat in the CECAFA Cup group stages in Ethiopia. Faris Abdalla Mamoun also found the net in a what as a comfortable 4-0 victory for Sudan.