*Now 28th globally, Third Best in Africa
Femi Solaja
Super Eagles’ beautiful run at the just concluded 34th Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire has resulted in Nigeria now ranked Number 3 in Africa and 28 globally in the latest FIFA Ranking released on Thursday morning.
Eagles moved 14 steps up the ladder from their previous 42nd position. This is their best ranking since February 2008 when they ranked 19th in the world.
However, Africa’s first semi finalists at the World Cup, Morocco, still remain the highest ranked team in the continent despite not moving beyond the AFCON 2023 Round of 16 where they were eliminated by South Africa.
The Atlas Lions moved a step upward in global ranking from 13th to 12th. The total points they have gathered over the years still weigh in their favour the moment they have 1663.69 as against the 1661.69 which they had as at the last ranking in December.
Nigeria’s current point-haul stand at 1522.26 which is 141.43 behind that of Africa’s number one team. It will therefore take a while before Nigeria gets to the number one position which they last occupied in February 2008.
Other movers in the new ranking include; Côte d’Ivoire who moved up to 39th in the world after sealing their third Nations Cup title on home soil.
Angola are the biggest winners from the finals, jumping 24 places to 93rd following their run to the quarter-finals in West Africa.
Tunisia and Algeria have both dropped 13 spots, to 41st and 43rd respectively, after suffering group-stage exits at the tournament.
The top 10 in the world governing body’s listare all unchanged, with 2022 World Cup winners Argentina remaining top ahead of France and England.
