The Nigeria national football team has climbed to third place in Africa and 26th globally in the latest FIFA Men’s World Rankings released on Monday.
Nigeria made a significant leap of 12 places, moving from 38th to 26th, following an impressive campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where the Super Eagles finished third overall.
The Super Eagles recorded the highest points gain in the latest ranking (+79.09), reflecting their strong showing at the tournament. Under head coach Eric Chelle, Nigeria won six of their seven matches, defeating the Tanzania national football team, the Tunisia national football team, the Uganda national football team, the Mozambique national football team, the Algeria national football team, and the Egypt national football team.
Their only setback came in the semi-finals, where they were edged out by the tournament hosts, the Moroccan national football team, after a penalty shootout.
On the African ranking table, Nigeria now trails only the Senegal national football team, the AFCON champions, who are ranked 12th globally, and Morocco, who sit eighth in the world. Algeria and Egypt follow Nigeria in fourth and fifth places on the continent, respectively.
Globally, the current top 10 teams are the Spain national football team, the Argentina national football team, the France national football team, the England national football team, the Brazil national football team, the Portugal national football team, the Netherlands national football team, Morocco, the Belgium national football team, and the Germany national football team.
The latest rankings underline Nigeria’s resurgence on the international stage and strengthen optimism ahead of upcoming World Cup qualification fixtures.
