Super Eagles move 14 places in FIFA ranking now 28

Still coming to terms with their second place finish at the 34th AFCON just concluded in Ivory Coast, Super Eagles moved up 14 places in latest FIFA ranking dished out Thursday.  The Nigerian team are now ranked 28th in the world a better standing from their previous 42nd position prior to the latest ranking.

The move revealed via official website of the world football governing body implies that the Eagles garnered 1,522 points, a notable increase from the 1,474 points recorded in December 2023, thus making the Jose Peseiro tutored sided the third-highest-ranked team on the African continent, trailing Morocco and Senegal, who occupy the 12th and 17th spots globally with 1663 and 1620 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, the newly-crowned African champions, Cote d’Ivoire, have also seen their fortunes improve, climbing 10 spots to 39th place in recognition of their victorious campaign on home soil. Certainly this is worth celebrating by Ivorians who almost bid the tournament the hosted bye in the group stage following poor takeoff

It was however not much of super good news for seven time AFCON champions Egypt whose performance at the continental fiesta this year fell below par. The ranking indicate that Egypt are now (36th), Cameroon (51st), and Ghana (67th) in the world.

Angola emerged as the biggest climber, advancing 24 places to 93rd after reaching the last eight.

On the global stage, Qatar, the two-time Asian Cup winners, recorded the most substantial points gain, moving up 21 places to 37th after successfully defending their title on home ground.

Jordan and Thailand also made notable progress, with Jordan climbing 17 spots to 70th after a narrow miss in the final and Thailand moving up 12 places to 101st following their last-16 finish.

Senegal and Tajikistan achieved milestone rankings, with Senegal reaching its highest-ever position at 17th after a heartbreaking Round of 16 exit at AFCON and Tajikistan entering the top 100 for the first time at 99th, marking their debut Asian Cup appearance.

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Other countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Cabo Verde, Namibia, and Mali have also seen significant improvements in their FIFA standings.

World cup winners Argentina remain top at the summit of the ranking with 2066-05 points.  The world top 10 is completed by France, England, Belgium, Brazil, Netherlands and Portugal. Others are Spain, Italy and Croatia in that order.

Africa top 10:

1. Morocco: First in Africa, 12th in the world.

2. Senegal: Second in Africa, 17th in the world.

3. Nigeria: Third in Africa, 28th in the world.

4. Egypt: Fourth in Africa, 36th in the world.

5. Cote d’Ivoire: Fifth in Africa, 39th in the world

6. Tunisia: Sixth in Africa, 41st in the world.

7. Algeria: Seventh in Africa, 43rd in the world.

8. Mali: Eight in Africa, 47th in the world.

9. Cameroon: Ninth in Africa, 51st in the world.

10. South Africa: 10th in Africa, 58th in the world.