Nigeria’s Super Eagles have fallen to the 38th position in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday.
The Super Eagles now have 1498.93 points, a decrease from their previous 1520.27 points.
Formerly ranked 30th, Nigeria’s decline follows its performance in the two matches after the African Cup of Nations, where they emerged as runners-up after losing 2-1 to the host nation.
In their recent games, the Super Eagles played a 1-1 draw against Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat to Benin Republic in a match played in Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, Argentina maintained their top position in the rankings, solidifying its status as the leading football nation in the world.
They gained 2.14 points, bringing their total to 1860.14, reflecting their consistent high-level performance in recent tournaments.
The FIFA rankings are calculated using the Elo model, which considers team strength, match importance, and results.
However, the second and third spots on the latest ranking remain unchanged as France and Belgium hold on to their respective positions.
France continue to dominate the football world, securing the second position for another consecutive month with a rating of 1840.59 points.
Following closely behind is Belgium, holding steady in 3rd place with a rating of 1795.23 points, marking a slight increase of 2.75 points.
Meanwhile, Brazil have moved up to the 4th position, overtaking England.
The Brazilian team now boasts a rating of 1788.65 points, a significant increase of 3.2 points from the previous ranking.
England slipped to 5th place after experiencing a decrease of 7.02 points, landing at a rating of 1794.9 points.
Meanwhile, Portugal maintained its position in 6th place despite a slight decrease of 1.07 points, securing a rating of 1748.11.
In a remarkable climb, the Netherlands have surged to 7th place with a rating of 1742.29 points while Spain follow closely behind in 8th place, with a rating of 1727.5 points, a modest increase of 2.42 points.
Croatia have made significant strides, moving up to 9th place with a notable increase of 7.23 points, totalling 1721.07 points.
Italy complete the top ten, maintaining its position despite a slight decrease of 0.23 points, achieving a rating of 1724.6 points.
Africa ratings
The best-ranked African team is Morocco in 12th. Senegal ranked 18th.
Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire also ranked 3rd and 4th in the continent ahead of 5th placed Nigeria in the world ranking. The duo ranked 36th and 37th respectively.
North African nations, Tunisia ranked 41st and Algeria, 44th while West African counterparts, Cameroon and Mali ranked 49th and 50th respectively.
South Africa ranked 50th and the Benin Republic 91st.
Liberia remain the biggest climber in the rankings, moving up 10 positions to a new highest rank of 142nd.
Liberia also scored the most points, gaining 37.47 points.
Equatorial Guinea experienced the biggest drop, falling 10 positions and losing 47.53 points, marking a significant downturn in their ranking.
Source:Daily Trust
