National Teams
Super Falcons retain 36th spot in last FIFA ranking for 2024 despite France loss
By Samuel Ahmadu
Nigeria’s senior women national team have remained resilient, retaining their position in the final FIFA Women’s World Ranking of 2023.
In the latest ranking released on FIFA’s official website on Friday, the Super Falcons held steady at 36th, despite a 2-1 loss to 10th-ranked France last month.
This result did not affect their standing on the global stage, although they were unable to rise in the rankings.
Despite this stagnation, the nine-time African champions continued their dominance on the continent, holding onto the number-one spot in Africa.
Their previous ranking from August saw them in the same position, and the lack of upward movement was attributed to their underwhelming performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers, although they secured convincing wins over lowly-ranked Algeria.
In a positive note, Nigeria was awarded the Best Women’s National Team honor at the 2023 CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco, and they remain in contention to defend the title, having made the final shortlist for the 2024 CAF Women’s National Team of the Year, with the winner to be announced on December 16.
Additionally, they will compete in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco next summer.
On the global front, the United States, the current Olympic gold medalists, retained their number-one spot, while England, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup runners-up, secured second place.
Women’s World Cup champions, Spain, occupied third, followed by Germany in fourth. Sweden dropped to fifth.
The next FIFA Women’s World Ranking will be published in March 2024.