Faisal Salisu DambattaIn the most recent FIFA World Rankings published on Thursday, Nigeria‘s Super Eagles have seen a further drop, now positioned at 45th globally, while remaining 6th in Africa.
This disappointing trend persists amid a lackluster performance in the 2026 World Cup Qualifying campaign, under the guidance of Coach Eric Chelle.
The latest rankings indicate a fall from 44th to 45th, following a previous decline from 43rd to 44th in August.
This ongoing decline highlights the team’s persistent challenges on the international stage.
Currently, the Super Eagles are ranked behind several African nations, including Morocco (1st), Senegal (2nd), Egypt (3rd), Algeria (4th), and Côte d’Ivoire (5th).
Their next opponent in the qualifiers, Lesotho, has dropped to 153rd place. In contrast, the Benin Republic, another competitor for the Super Eagles next month, has risen to 93rd.
South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who recently drew 1-1 with the Super Eagles, have ascended to 55th place, enhancing their prospects for World Cup qualification.
At the top of the latest rankings, Spain has made a notable leap to 1st place, a position they last held in June 2014. Spain’s ascent has come at the expense of Argentina, which has fallen to 3rd after dropping two spots.
France, the team that lost to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final, now holds 2nd place after moving up one position.
Significant changes further down the rankings include Portugal, Croatia, and Italy, all of which have advanced by one spot to 5th, 9th, and 10th, respectively.
This shift occurs as Brazil falls to 6th and Germany drops to 12th, marking their lowest ranking outside the top 10 since October 2024, following a defeat to Slovakia in their World Cup qualifier.
Morocco, now in 11th place, is leading the group just outside the top 10, having won eight of their last nine matches since the previous ranking in July.
