In a blow to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), the Super Eagles’ FIFA ranking has crashed to their lowest in six years, slumping to 44th in the world.
Thìs was confirmed in the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking. Super Eagles’ FIFA ranking comes as a contrast to a team once celebrated as a powerhouse in African football.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that this is also the worst ranking since June 2019 when Nigeria sat at 45th.
The latest ranking comes despite recent performances that showed signs of promise, including a 1-1 draw against Russia in Moscow and a Unity Cup triumph over Ghana and Jamaica.
However, Super Eagles’ performances at the ongoing FIFA World Cup qualifiers appear to play a key role in the latest ranking.
Nigeria is currently in fourth position in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers. Amassing only 7 points, the Super Eagles are on the brink of missing another World Cup edition.
On the continental front, Nigeria’s latest position keeps it fifth among African nations.
Morocco remains the highest-ranked African team in the world at 12th, followed by Senegal, the only country among the continent’s top 10 to move up, going from 17th to 18th. Egypt dropped to 34th, while Algeria held steady at 36th after a mixed run of results.
Ivory Coast fell to 45th following a winless four-match stretch, allowing Nigeria to stay marginally ahead in the continental table.
Other African countries also experienced movements, with Tunisia remaining 49th, Cameroon dropping to 51st, and Mali slipping to 54th after a defeat.
South Africa remained 56th after a busy match window that included eight fixtures but ended in disappointing results, with just one win.
Globally, Argentina continues to lead the rankings, followed by Spain, France, England, and Brazil.Croatia returned to the top ten, while Mexico climbed four places to 13th following their Gold Cup triumph.
Costa Rica were the biggest climbers in the latest edition, rising 14 places after reaching the quarter-finals of the same tournament.
