Nigeria Falls to Fourth in Africa in FIFA Rankings

Nigeria has kept its 26th spot in the latest FIFA Men’s World Rankings released on Monday. But they have dropped to fourth place among African teams after Egypt's strong performance at the 2026 World Cup, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Eric Chelle’s team earned 1,585.2 points. This keeps them ahead of Turkey, Australia, Algeria, Canada, and Ivory Coast, who are ranked 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st in the world.

The Super Eagles have not played in a competitive match since June. In that match, they lost two-one to Portugal in an international friendly.

Nigeria's drop in the rankings is due to Egypt's progress to the Round of 16 in the ongoing World Cup. The Pharaohs narrowly lost three-two to Argentina, which helped them rise to third in Africa.

Morocco remains the highest-ranked African team after reaching the quarter-finals. The Atlas Lions climbed one spot globally, moving from seventh to sixth. Senegal is still the second-ranked African team, despite falling three places in the world rankings. Algeria dropped one place globally but stayed in fifth position in Africa.

Nigeria is the second-highest-ranked team among those not at the World Cup. The tournament is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, is ranked higher among the teams that are not participating.

John Terry, a football legend from England and Chelsea, expressed disappointment at Nigeria’s absence. He called the Super Eagles a big loss for a tournament featuring 48 nations for the first time.

Chelle’s team finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who qualified automatically. Nigeria kept their hopes alive by winning a playoff semi-final against Gabon.

Their journey ended in the final playoff, where they lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties. This marked Nigeria’s second straight absence from the World Cup after missing the 2022 edition in Qatar. The Nigeria Football Federation contested DR Congo’s qualification, claiming they used ineligible players during the qualifiers, but their appeal was rejected.

At the top of the global rankings, Spain, the new World Cup champions, returned to the number one spot. Argentina dropped to second place. France, England, and Brazil filled the top five spots. The next FIFA Men’s World Rankings will be released on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.