Despite recording a win and a draw in their last friendly games during the international break, their only games since the last FIFA world rankings in September, Nigeria remained unmoved in the latest FIFA men’s rankings for October, The PUNCH reports.
Though the Super Eagles gained 1.62 points in the month under review to take their total point to 1490.48, they, however, maintained their position at 40th place.
The Eagles played a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in their first game of the two friendlies before beating Mozambique 3-2 in their other game. Still, the results did not have much effect on their position on the rankings table.
Jose Peseiro’s team witnessed a significant drop in the ranking in April, falling to 40th, following their December ranking of 35th in Africa.
The major reason for this drop was suggested to be their non-participation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Nigeria held 39th in the rankings in June and July but slipped back to 40th in September.
On the African continent, the three-time African champions remain sixth.
Meanwhile, Morocco remain Africa’s number one nation, while also maintaining their 13th place in the world ranking.
Senegal still occupied the 20th place in the world while they maintained their second position in Africa.
Tunisia, who were the only African country among the top six on the continent to move up globally last month, were the only country among the top six to drop points. They ranked 29 in the previous rankings but in the update released by FIFA on Thursday, they now occupy the 32nd position in the world.
Algeria (33) and Egypt (35) complete the Top 5 in Africa.
Globally, World Cup winners, Argentina, are still the number one ranked nation ahead of France, Brazil, England, and Belgium.
