- Slide to 45th in FIFA Rankings
Nigeria’s Super Eagles have fallen to 45th position in the latest FIFA world rankings released yesterday as the coach Eric Sekou Chelle-led side slipped out of the top five teams in Africa.
The three-time African champions have struggled to find consistency in recent outings. After edging Rwanda 1–0 in Uyo, the team was held to a 1–1 draw by South Africa in Bloemfontein.
The results offered little respite, doing nothing to improve their global standing or their precarious position in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying race.
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Nigeria now sit third in their qualifying group, six points behind leaders South Africa and three adrift of second-placed Benin, leaving their World Cup hopes hanging in the balance.
On the continental front, the Super Eagles have dropped to sixth place in Africa. Morocco remain the continent’s top-ranked side at 11th globally, followed by Senegal (18th ), Egypt (35th ), Algeria (38th ), and Cote d’Ivoire (44th ), all ahead of Nigeria.
Globally, Spain reclaimed the No. 1 spot, with France rising to second and world champions Argentina slipping to third. England and Portugal round out the top five, while Brazil sit sixth.
Elsewhere, Slovakia were the biggest movers upward, while Zimbabwe suffered the steepest fall, dropping nine places to 125th .
FIFA confirmed that the next rankings will be published on October 23 after Nigeria’s crunch qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin.
