Super Eagles Drop in FIFA Ranking as Argentina Maintain Top Spot

*Nigeria may face champions Senegal, hosts Côte d’Ivoire in AFCON 2023

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Super Eagles 6-0 defeat of São Tomé and Principe in a final Group A match of the  2023 AFCON qualifiers early this month count nothing for Nigeria in the latest FIFA ranking released on Thursday.

Instead, Nigeria dropped a place to be ranked 40th globally and sixth in Africa.

Expectedly, Morocco who finished as semifinalist at the last World Cup in Qatar continued to maintain her top spot in the continent and 14th globally.

AFCON 2021  champions Senegal are second with Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt completing the Top 5 spots of the continental ranking in that order. Cameroon. Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso make up the other countries in the Top 10 in Africa.

Argentina’s 1-0 triumph over Ecuador and a 3-0 defeat of Bolivia in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers strengthened the Albiceleste hold at the top. France are second while Brazil, England and Belgium make up the Top 5. 

Croatia (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Portugal (8th), Italy (9th) and Spain complete the Top 10 teams for the month of September.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles now face the prospect of facing defending champions Senegal, hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt in the group stage of AFCON 2023.

Eagles are joined in Pot 2 by perennial rivals, Ghana and Cameroon.

Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso are the other teams in Pot 2. In Pot 3 are; South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania while Pot 4 has Guinea Bissau, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Gambia and Tanzania.

The draw for the AFCON 2023 will be staged in Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday October 12. The competition proper is to run from January 13 to February 11, 2024 to decide the next champion league of the continental showpiece.