Di latest FIFA ranking wey dem release just hours before di 2026 World Cup kickoff for North America show say Nigeria Super Eagles still dey third for Africa and 26th for di world.
Even though di Super Eagles no qualify for di Mundial, di work wey Coach Eric Chelle do for di last 18 months show say di team dey slowly come back to reckoning.
Nigeria dey behind only Morocco and Senegal for di continent, while traditional rivals like South Africa and Ghana wey dey di World Cup still dey far behind.
Di Super Eagles impressive performance for di last AFCON for January, plus di defence of di Unity Cup for London and di draw with Poland for friendly match, all help Nigeria to maintain dia position.
But World Cup-bound Portugal end Nigeria 12-match unbeaten run by beating dem 2-1 for dia final warm-up game for Leira earlier dis week.
Portugal wey rank as di fifth best team for di world and get Cristiano Ronaldo for dia side, take di lead after 23 minutes through Chelsea star Pedro Neto.
But Eagles wey rank 21 places below Portugal for FIFA Rankings, equalise for di 39th minute through Jerome Akor, with Fisayo Dele-Bashiru providing di assist.
Substitute Francisco Conceicao score di winner for di hosts for di 75th minute. A win for dis match maybe for raise Nigeria rating for di latest classification wey dem release yesterday.
Di three-time African champions climb from 38th to 26th for di world rankings on January 19 after a strong tournament run. Dat AFCON performance lift Nigeria to dia highest FIFA ranking for five years, and dem manage to keep dat position through a series of encouraging results for 2026.
Morocco remain Africa highest-ranked team and sit seventh for di world, while Senegal occupy second place for di continent. Behind Nigeria, Algeria rank fourth for Africa, followed by Egypt for fifth and Côte d’Ivoire for sixth.
Globally, di reigning world champions Argentina leapfrog France to become di new Number 1 for FIFA Ranking. France drop to third while Spain dey second. England stay 4th while Portugal (5), Brazil (6), Morocco (7), Netherlands (8), Belgium (9) and Germany (10) complete di Top 10 of global football.
