The Super Eagles of Nigeria have dropped in the latest FIFA men’s rankings after qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with ease.
Recall that the Super Eagles qualified for the 2023 AFCON after beating Sierra Leone 3-2 away from home in June. They ensured that they finished at the top of their qualification table by beating Sao Tome and Principe 6-0 in September.
Despite that, the world football governing body ranked them one spot lower than their previous ranking. This means that the Super Eagles have dropped from the 39th spot to the 40th spot on the latest world ranking.
Even though they dropped in the global ranking, the Nigerian side are still ranked in the top 6 in Africa which is at least encouraging for the three-time AFCON champions.
This position reflects the fact that the Super Eagles will be among the top-seeded teams when the AFCON draw is done later in 2023 ahead of the commencement of the tournament in Ivory Coast in January.
According to FIFA, Morocco who finished fourth in the 2022 FIFA World Cup are the highest-ranked team in Africa and ranked thirteenth in the world.
Interestingly, the reigning African champions, Senegal, have dropped to 20th in the world and ranked second in Africa.
As for Tunisia, they have moved from the 31st highest-ranked team in the world to 29th according to the ranking FIFA released on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
Algeria (34) and Egypt (35) complete the top five teams in Africa, while the Super Eagles of Nigeria occupy the 6th spot in the continent.
Meanwhile, the World Cup champions Argentina are the highest ranked football team in the world, followed by France, Brazil, England, and Belgium.
