Nigeria’s Super Eagles will end the year as the 44th-best team in the world and fifth in Africa, according to the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday, Afrosport reports.
The three-time African champions plummeted in the rankings released in November, dropping eight spots in the world and one in Africa following a draw against Benin Republic and defeat to Rwanda in the final two matches in the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles, however, end the year 16 places worse off, having reached as high as 28th in the first ranking of the year, which was released after they reached the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cote d’Ivoire.
The top 10 teams in Africa remained unchanged from the previous rankings, with Morocco (14th), Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), Algeria (37th), and Nigeria making up the top five on the continent.
Côte d’Ivoire (46th), Cameroon (49th), Mali (51st), Tunisia (52nd), and South Africa (57th) complete the top 10.
Madagascar dropped a place to 116th in the world, while Gambia moved up a spot into 125th, the same as Lesotho, who now occupy the 149th spot in the FIFA rankings.
There were no changes at the top of the rankings as World Champions and Copa America winners Argentina end the year as the best team, occupying the top spot.
France (2nd), Spain (3rd), England (4th), and Brazil (5th) all retained their positions to make the top five. Portugal (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Belgium (8th), Italy (9th), and Germany (10th) also held on to their respective places as the 10 best-ranked teams in the world.
