I don’t care about Nigeria’s FIFA ranking – Ex-Super Eagles star Ifeanyi Udeze

By Saheed Afolabi

Former Nigeria international, Ifeanyi Udeze has played down the furore attached to the national ranking by FIFA, insisting that he never cared about it during his professional playing days.

In the latest FIFA ranking, Super Eagles took a step backward from their initial 39th position to 40th in the world despite trashing Sao Tome and Principe 6-0 in their final qualifying match to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 43-year-old defender said he’s never amused by Nigeria ranking, adding that his focus was solely on getting invited to the national team and contribute his best for the country to win matches.

“I’m not a fan of the ranking, mine is to just play football,” Udeze told Brila FM.

“Even during my playing days I never for once check the Super Eagles position in the ranking. As long I get invited and make sure I do my best to help the team win so for me I don’t care about ranking.”

With the latest FIFA World ranking, the Super Eagles are now rated the sixth best team in Africa behind Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal and Algeria.