The Super Eagles experienced mixed fortunes in the first FIFA rankings of 2025, dropping to sixth in Africa while moving up to 43rd globally.
Nigeria lost its fifth-place ranking in Africa to Ivory Coast, the current Africa Cup of Nations champions. However, the Super Eagles managed to climb one spot in the global standings due to Romania’s decline in the latest rankings.
This shift follows their 2026 World Cup qualifying matches, where Nigeria secured a 2-0 victory against Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, but was held to a 1-1 draw by Zimbabwe at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.
With these results, Nigeria accumulated a total of 1481.35 ranking points, trailing Ivory Coast by six points.
Despite the ranking boost, the Super Eagles remain fourth in their World Cup qualifying group, putting them at risk of missing out on the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico—which would mark their second consecutive absence from the competition.
Meanwhile, Morocco retained its position as Africa’s top-ranked team, moving up to 12th globally.
Top Five African Teams:
1. Morocco (12th globally)
2. Senegal (19th globally)
3. Egypt (32nd globally)
4. Algeria (36th globally)
5. Ivory Coast (41st globally)
Global Top Five Rankings:
1. Argentina
2. Spain
3. France
4. England
5. Brazil
In other developments, Myanmar made the biggest climb, moving seven places to 162nd, while Guinea-Bissau suffered the biggest drop, falling eight places to 128th.
Additionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained the most points (+24.16), whereas Iraq lost the most (-29.46).
FIFA has announced that the next rankings update will be released on July 10, 2025, after the second international break of the year.
