The Super Eagles of Nigeria, led by José Peseiro, have fallen in the FIFA standings. The group, which lost to Guinea Bissau 1-0 last month, is placed 40th in the world right now, down from 35th in the most recent rating, which was announced in December.
Below African champions Senegal, Tunisia, and Cameroon, who advanced to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup, Nigeria was the fifth-ranked team in the continent. Egypt, however, has surpassed Nigeria and moved up to fifth place in the most recent rankings. Cameroon dropped three spots as well, moving from fourth to seventh. South American rivals Brazil were replaced at the top by world winners Argentina.
Argentina is back at the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, FIFA said in a press release. This is now six years since they last held the position. Recent friendly victories against Panama (2-0) and Curaçao (7-0) helped the world champions dethrone Brazil (3rd, minus 2). Brazil however paid a high price for their loss to Morocco (2-1) in their friendly.
The Central African Republic has made the biggest strides since the last rating, according to the publication. Les Fauves du Bas-Oubangui advanced 10 places in the world rankings. They defeated Madagascar twice, which was at the time rated 30 places above them. They outperformed other significant movers including Namibia (106th, plus 7), Malaysia (138th, plus 7), and The Gambia (120th, plus 6) in the process.
When the Super Eagles head to Freetown in June for the second leg of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone, they will have the chance to raise their standing.
cc: PremiumTimes
