Nigeria drop in FIFA ranking to 45th, their lowest in six years, as the Super Eagles struggle in qualifiers and risk missing another World Cup

The slip of one place from 44th to 45th marks Nigeria’s worst showing since June 2019, when they also sat 45th, and only just above their February 2019 low of 46th.

Also read: Super Eagles draw exposes fading World Cup hopes (Analysis)

The Eagles are now outside the world’s top 40 and remain sixth in Africa, trailing Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Côte d’Ivoire.

FIFA confirmed that more than 200 international fixtures were considered in compiling the September rankings.

Nigeria’s mixed record of two wins, two defeats and a draw in their last five matches weighed heavily against them.

A major part of the decline came at the African Nations Championship in Tanzania, where Nigeria lost 1–0 to Senegal and then slumped to a 4–0 defeat by Sudan before salvaging some pride with a 2–0 win over Congo. Their early exit dented their points tally.

In World Cup qualifying, the senior Eagles edged Rwanda 1–0 in Uyo through a Tolu Arokodare strike and then drew 1–1 away to South Africa.

But those results were not enough to halt the slide down the global order.

Elsewhere in Africa, Morocco strengthened their lead as the continent’s top-ranked team, climbing to 11th in the world after lifting the CHAN trophy.

Senegal rose to 18th, Egypt stayed 35th, and Ivory Coast jumped to 44th—just above Nigeria—while Tunisia climbed to 46th.

Globally, Spain returned to the summit of the FIFA rankings for the first time since 2014, displacing Argentina, who fell to third behind France.

Germany dropped to 12th after a defeat to Slovakia, who enjoyed the biggest rise, up ten places to 42nd.

The outlook remains concerning for Nigeria. With only two qualifiers left, the Super Eagles sit third in their group, three points behind Benin and four adrift of leaders South Africa.

After missing Qatar 2022, failure to win both October fixtures against Lesotho and Benin could mean back-to-back absences from the World Cup.