THE Super Eagles have slipped five places in the FIFA ranking, according to the global football governing body’s latest release today.
The Nigerian side are now 40th in the world, down from their 35th spot in the last ranking on December 22, days after the Qatar 2022 World Cup final.
In the three months since the last ranking, the Super Eagles have played two matches, losing one and winning the other against much lower ranked Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria also dropped to sixth in the African ranking, the first time they have been out of the top five on the continent in ages. They also lost 13.5 ranking points.
On their part, Guinea-Bissau took advantage of the stunning Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory over the Super Eagles to gain five spots in the ranking, rising from 118th in the world to 113th.
The Djurtus also moved up from 29th in Africa to 26th, adding 13.5 points to their total.
Morocco, who made history by becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar, retained the No.1 spot on the continent.
The Atlas Lions also remain 11th in the world, with Senegal (18th in the world), Tunisia (28th in the world), Algeria (34th in the world) and Egypt (35th in the world) completing the African top five.
Globally, Argentina returned to the top of the ranking for the first time in six years, up from second spot.
The Qatar 2022 World Cup winners overtook Brazil after recent friendly wins against Panama (2-0) and Curaçao (7-0), as the former No.1 team paid dearly for a friendly defeat against Morocco (2-1).
France also moved above Brazil into second spot following back-to-back wins in UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying against The Netherlands (4-0) and Republic of Ireland (1-0).
Brazil are third, while there is no further movement in the rest of the top 10: Belgium, England, The Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
