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Nigeria’s Super Eagles are placed 35th in the World and 5th in Africa despite its World Cup absence.
This was revealed in FIFA’s latest ranking on Thursday to close the year 2022.
Ghana’s Black Stars who knocked out Nigeria in the playoff round of the world cup were unable to displace the 2013 African Cup of Nations champions in the top 5 teams on the continent with Morocco (+11) being the highest-ranked African team and has climbed into 11th place worldwide following their heroics at the 2022 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.
This is the highest rank by any African nation since Egypt were ninth in 2010.
African champions Teranga Lions of Senegal, Carthage Eagles of Tunisia and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon completed the African top 5 countries. The next ranking is slated for February 2023.
Meanwhile, World Cup winners Argentina climbed to second in world rankings behind arch-rivals Brazil after their World Cup triumph in Qatar.
Argentina skipper Lionel Messi scored two goals and netted again in the shootout as he led his country to an emotional 4-2 win on penalties over France on Sunday, with the title clash ending 3-3 after 120 minutes of breathtaking action. A win in normal or extra time would have propelled Argentina to the top of the rankings but they sit second behind five-times world champions Brazil who now have a slender lead in points.
France rose to third with both of this year’s World Cup finalists leapfrogging Belgium, who failed to reach the knockout stage.
Croatia, the World Cup runners-up in Russia four years ago, are seventh behind England and the Netherlands.
