Nigeria moves up in FIFA rankings
Nigeria has moved up from 31st to 29th position in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings.
The rankings were released on Thursday and published on FIFA’s official website.
The new ranking saw the Eagles now occupying third in Africa behind Senegal (20th in the world) and Tunisia (26th in the world).
Eagles’ 2021 AFCON qualifying opponents did not make any progress in the rankings. While Benin Republic and Lesotho remained at 84th and 139th respectively, Sierra Leone dropped from one to 119.
Also, there was no progress made by the Eagles’ 2022 World Cup qualifying foes Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic and Liberia.
Cape Verde and Liberia are 78th and 152nd respectively and Central Africa Republic dropped one spot to 110.
After more than six months of disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international matches have finally recommenced. With the exception of Uzbekistan’s 2-1 friendly victory over Tajikistan, the countries back in action have all been European. The successful staging of these games was nonetheless encouraging for teams from other confederations as they seek to resume international fixtures in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, the 54 UEFA Nations League games that took place across Europe at the beginning of September had an immediate impact on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, which had remained unchanged since 9 April.
While there has been no movement among the leading quartet – in descending order: Belgium, France, Brazil and England – Portugal (5th, +2) have moved into the top five thanks to victories over Croatia (8th, -2) and Sweden (18th, -1).
Other countries moving in the right direction are Spain (7th, +1), Italy (12th, +1), the Netherlands (13th, +1), and Germany (14th, +1), with each gaining one place in the global classification. Wales (21st, + 2) climbed two rungs but remain just outside the top 20.
read also:Nigeria Moves Up in Latest FIFA Rankings
Russia, hosts of the last FIFA World Cup™, are further back in 32nd but had the biggest gain in this edition, ascending six places courtesy of wins over Serbia (31st, – 2) and Hungary (52nd, unchanged).
Despite not playing, IR Iran (30th, + 3) moved into the top 30 after Serbia and Turkey (32nd, -3) dropped points.