By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria’s men national team have moved up one position in the latest FIFA men’s rankings, climbing from 44th to 43rd place.
However, despite the global improvement, Eric Chelle’s side saw a drop in their African ranking, falling out of the top five to sixth on the continent. The top five ranked African teams are Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The Super Eagles’ ranking improvement follows their recent 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Nigeria defeated Rwanda 2-0 in Kigali and drew 1-1 with Zimbabwe in Uyo, earning valuable points in the global standings.
On the global stage, Argentina retained their top spot after securing their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Spain, France, England, and Brazil rounded out the top five, maintaining their positions.
While the Super Eagles made progress in the FIFA rankings, they will now turn their focus toward future World Cup qualifiers and hope to regain their place in Africa’s top five.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
