Nigeria’s Super Eagles experienced a significant setback in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday, suffering the biggest drop of any national team.
This decline follows a disappointing performance in the November Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they managed only a draw against Benin and suffered a surprising home loss to Rwanda.
The Super Eagles suffered a significant drop in the latest FIFA World Rankings, released on Thursday. They fell to 44th position, an eight-place decline from their previous ranking of 36th, the largest drop globally for this period.
The decline is attributed to the team’s underwhelming performance in their final qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. During this ranking window, Nigeria drew 1-1 with the Benin Republic in Abidjan and lost 2-1 to Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
The Super Eagles have struggled to regain their footing, having dropped eight places to 38th in June. Despite marginal gains, the team’s recent string of uninspiring results has led to this substantial drop.
Historically, the Super Eagles debuted at 13th when FIFA first introduced its rankings in December 1992. The team achieved its highest-ever ranking of No. 5 in April 1994, following their Africa Cup of Nations victory, which preceded their first World Cup appearance.
After being eliminated by Italy in the World Cup’s second round, the team fell to No. 10.
Notably, the Super Eagles have occupied top-10 spots, including No. 5 on 19 April 1994, No. 7 on 17 May 1994, and No. 9 on 22 November 2006.
Conversely, their lowest ranking occurred in November 1999, when they plummeted to No. 82.
In the current African rankings, Morocco remains the continent’s top football nation, despite dropping one spot to 14th globally. The Atlas Lions boast 1688.18 points, surpassing their October total of 1681.57.
Africa’s top-ranked teams include Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, and Cameroon. Globally, the top 10 teams in the FIFA rankings are Argentina, France, Spain, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Germany.
With the last FIFA rankings for 2024 billed to be released on 14 December, there is little hope of Nigeria moving up as the Eagles are inactive for the rest of the year.
The Super Eagles’ decline underscores the need for improvement ahead of their World Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled to resume in March 2025.
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