Nigeria fail to gain points in FIFA ranking, remains at 39 position

By Ifeanyi Eduzor
Not minding the many goals scored by the Super Eagles in their last Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match, the country still maintained it’s 39th position in the recent ranking released by world football governing body, FIFA.
The best team from Africa is Morocco ranked 14 followed by Senegal, 18, Tunisia 31, Algeria on the 33 position and Egypt ranked 34.
Nigeria beat Sao Tome & Principe 6-0 in Uyo earlier this month to get a 16-0 aggregate win. But Sao Tome & Principe, at 188th globally is the least ranked of the 50 African teams.
It also means that the Super Eagles may be out of the seeded six teams for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations draw if FIFA ranking is used as the determinant.
Though sixth in Africa, Nigeria may lose ranking rights to hosts, Cote d’Ivoire who are number nine in Africa and 52nd in the world.
Globally, Argentina hold on tenaciously to their number one position following their 1-0 triumph over Ecuador and a 3-0 away success against Bolivia in their opening CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
Second place France lose some ground  after suffering a 2-1 friendly defeat at the hands of Germany.
Meanwhile, Brazil at number three, England (4th) and Belgium (5th) retain their places in a top five that remains unchanged from the July 2023 edition of the global ranking.
The leading pack are followed by Croatia (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Portugal (8th), who are the only team amongst the top ten to climb a position. Italy (9th) slipped down a spot after having been held to a 1-1 draw away to North Macedonia in the sides’ UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier. The top-ten line-up is completed by Spain.
There is no shortage of changes further down the standings. Indeed, of the sides ranked between tenth and 50th, no fewer than 17 have risen by a place or more. Austria (25th) and Hungary (32nd) both made waves by climbing four places. Elsewhere, Mali (49th) and Côte d’Ivoire (50th) move up two spots apiece to reclaim their positions amongst the top 50.
After succumbing to back-to-back away defeats; 4-2 to Slovenia and 1-0 against Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland (74th, down 10) are the biggest fallers in the latest instalment of the ranking. Belarus (105th) tumble seven places to drop out of the top 100, with Trinidad and Tobago (98th, up 4), Mauritania (99th, up 2) and Kazakhstan (100th, up 4) moving in the opposite direction to claim top-100 status.
Thanks largely to their 2-0 win over Poland, Albania (62nd, up 3) record the biggest move by points (up 20.08). As for progress in terms of places, the biggest climbers are Guinea Bissau (106th) and Aruba (193rd), both of whom jump up six places.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 26 October.