FIFA's latest world rankings were released in December 2009, with the next assessment due at the
start of February, just after the African Cup of Nations is due to end. So with the tournament
about to get underway, how do the teams involved fare? The number on the left represents the
nations' standing within Africa, the number in brackets their overall world ranking.
Ricardo Carvalho was full of confidence after helping Chelsea to secure a 3-0 win against a
Birmingham team who started the match on a 15 game unbeaten run in all competitions. Chelsea
produced a master class of attacking football throughout the 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and,
while the defense didn't have a lot to deal with, Carvalho and his teammates at the back did a
good job to help goalkeeper Petr Cech keep a clean sheet.
