BEVERLY HILLS, February 19, (THEWILL) – FIFA has released its new ranking, in which Nigeria’s Super Eagles dropped one place to now rank 36th best in the world, from their previous 35th position.
The 2020 team of the year Belgium remained at the global summit with 1780 points, while France (2nd), Brazil (3rd) and England (4th) retain their respective rankings.
2022 FIFA World Cup hosts, Qatar boast a striking 1391 points over the course of a year to finish fifth in Asia and 58th in the world in general.
The three-time African champions garnered a total of 1474 points but retained their position as the fifth-best team on the continent behind Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
With no other international engagement apart from the double-header Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Sierra Leone in November 2020 which ended 4-4 and 0-0 respectively, there was nothing to boost the upward movement of the national team.
Leading the African continent ranking are the Senegalese Lions of Teranga, who are ranked first on the continent and 20th in the world with 1558 points, while Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles are 26th in the world and second in Africa with 1503 points amassed.
The recently concluded African Nations Championship (CHAN) was taken into consideration – classified as friendlies – because only players competing in the national championships of the participating countries are eligible to partake.
The winners Morocco moved two places up while runners-up Mali made the most progress climbing three places. Elsewhere, third-placed Guinea and quarter-finalists Congo moved up by a single place.
Other teams that moved northward include Costa Rica (50th, + 1), Cape Verde (80th, + 1), Oman (81st, + 1), Benin (82nd, + 1), Azerbaijan (108th, + 1), Estonia (108th, + 1), Thailand (110th, + 1), Guinea-Bissau (119th, + 1), Tajikistan (120th, + 1) and Guatemala (130th, + 1).
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
