Super Eagles Drop Eight Spots in Latest FIFA Ranking

 Femi Solaja

Super Eagles have dropped eight places in the June  FIFA ranking released by the World Football ruling body yesterday.

Nigeria’s eight-step drop has pushed Eagles  to 38th globally  and fifth in the continent as Morocco and Senegal hold on tenaciously to the top two positions followed by Egypt and AFCON Champions, Côte d’Ivoire in that order.

The slip was expected after the senior national team flunked two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against SouthAfrica and Benin Republic that left the Super Eagles on miserable three points from four matches and fifth in Group C.

The new order is a far cry from what the nation obtained when the ranking system was introduced by FIFA in 1992 when Nigeria was ranked 13th best and moved further to the unit rank in 1994 when the Super Eagles won the AFCON tournament in Tunisia to hit the 5th position in the world and best on the continent.

On the global level, Argentina and other top nations in the first tenth position retained their respective status of last month’s rating.

According to the FIFA release, “the top three, however, remain unshakeable. Argentina (1st) retain  their place at the summit, with France (2nd) and Belgium (3rd) hot on their heels. But there was movement behind them, as Brazil (4th, up 1) and England (5th, down 1) swap places.

In Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Cote d’Ivoire each improved one spot, while Senegal dropped one spot. The Atlas Lions are the highest-ranked African team at No. 12, followed by Senegal’s Teranga Lions at 18, Egypt’s Pharaohs at 36, the African champions Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire at 37, and the Super Eagles rounding out Africa’s top five at 38.

Liberia are the best movers in the new release, climbing from 152nd place to 142 on the back of a draw away against Namibia and an away win over Sao Tome and Principe.