Nigeria moves up 28th position in latest FIFA ranking

The Super Eagles take a group photo before their AFCON 2023 semi-final game against South Africa. Photo: AFP

Nigeria ’s sterling performance at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire has started yielding dividends, with the Super Eagles now ranked as the 28th best football-playing nation in the world.

Before the championship, where Nigeria finished as Africa’s second-best team following a 2-1 loss to hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, in the final, the Super Eagles were ranked as the world’s 42nd-best team by FIFA.

But in the latest rankings released by FIFA yesterday, the Super Eagles moved 14 places to duck under the best 30 teams for the first time in over three years.

Nigeria played seven games at the Africa Cup of Nations, winning five, drawing one, losing one, scoring eight goals and conceding four to pick the silver medal.

The latest move places Nigeria as the third-best team in Africa, up from the previous sixth position it occupied before the Africa Cup of Nations. Morocco is still Africa’s number one team, ranked 12th in the world, while Senegal (17th from 20th) is the continent’s second-best team.

Other gainers from their outstanding performances in Cote d’Ivoire are Equatorial Guinea (79th), South Africa (58th), Cape Verde (65th), Namibia (107th) and Mali (47th).

Argentina remains the world’s number one ranked team, followed by France, England, Belgium, Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Uruguay in that order.

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