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Wales top qualifying group… but slip further behind in FIFA world rankings
WALES are top dogs in their Euro 2016 qualifying group - but they have been overtaken by the Cape Verde Islands in the FIFA world rankings.
Chris Coleman’s men gained four points in recent qualifiers with Bosnia and Cyprus this month to lead Group B.
But that success was not enough to see the Dragons drop five spots to 34th in the global standings.
And the Cape Verde Islands, who only became independent from Portugal in 1975 and joined FIFA 11 years later, have surged up eight places in the table and above Wales into 33rd.
The group of islands off the west coast of Africa - with a population of less than a million - have been rewarded with the sharp rise after they became the first country to reach the 2015 African Cup of Nations.