Duro Ikhazuagbe
Nigeria’s senior national soccer team, the Super Eagles ended 2018 as the fourth best team in the continent.
In the end of year ranking released by FIFA Thursday, the three-time African champions maintained their last month’s 44th ranking at the global level.
Gernot Rohr’s men did not add to their 1,427 points amassed last month due to their inactivity and will hope to improve on their standing when the next FIFA World Ranking is released on February 7 next year.
Senegal maintained her hold as the top ranked African football nation with Tunisia and Morocco in the second and third positions respectively.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranked behind Nigeria completed the Top Five teams in Africa. Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Burkina Faso and Mali occupied the rest spots in that order to complete the Top 10 positions in the December standing.
Despite already picking the AFCON 2019 ticket, Nigeria’s next opponents in a competitive match, Seychelles, was ranked 189th in the global standing.
Other countries in the Group G standing like South Africa and Libya were placed 72nd and 104th respectively.
At the world level, Belgium will begin 2019 at the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, having preserved their single-point lead over France at the table’s summit and emerged as the Ranking’s ‘Team of the Year’.
Les Bleus’ stellar 2018 does not go unrecognised though, with the world champions established as the year’s ‘Best Mover’, having gained more points (165) since December 2017 than any other nation. The French lead that particular table from Uruguay (7th, unchanged).
World champions France is second followed by Brazil, Croatia and England.
The outgoing year has been a good one in general for Europe, which now accounts for 31 of the top 50 teams – two up from December 2017.
Asia has also boosted its top-50 numbers from two to three, with these rises coming at the expense of Africa, which saw its representation drop from eight to five.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 7 February 2019.
AFRICA’S TOP TEN
1) Senegal
2) Tunisia
3) Morocco
4) Nigeria
5) DR Congo
6) Ghana
7) Cameroon
8) Egypt
9) Burkina Faso
10) Mali
