Julius OkorieNigeria recorded eight steps downward crash in the latest FIFA ranking released late Thursday it has been revealed.
The Super Eagles who achieved a seamless qualification for the 35 AFCON to be hosted by Morocco next year, slipped from their former 36th position in the world ranking to 44th.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Austin Eguavoen tutored team that is hoping to clinch the AFCON title for the fourth time after securing three titles in the past accumulated total point of 1482.23 as against 1503 as a result of the slip.
In Africa the team is currently ranked fifth behind Morocco, Senegal, Egypt and Algeria in that order.
The crash in the latest ranking is not unconnected with a number of poor results earned by the team during the FIFA international window used for the AFCON qualifiers.
The team lost 2-1 to Rwanda at the Nest of Champions Uyo and also drew 1-1 with Benin Republic in the course of the qualifier.
Primebusiness.africa had predicted that although the last qualifiers against Rwanda was inconsequential in relation to the qualifiers since the team picked a ticket with a game to spare, it will nonetheless affect Nigeria in ranking considering the gap between her and the opponents in question.
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Recall that the loss to Rwanda generated a lot of controversy with Libya who failed to make it to AFCON 2025 accusing Eagles of deliberately losing the said match against Rwanda to shut the AFCON doors against the Mediterranean Knights.
World Cup winners Argentina retained their number position in the world followed by France in second place, Spain, England and Brazil in the third, fourth and fifth positions in that order.
Niger recorded the most significant advancement in the rankings, climbing nine places to 122nd globally with an increase of 31.23 points, while Congo DR recorded most points dropped in the minus digit of -35.53. The next update of the FIFA rankings is set for December 12, 2024.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
