Monday, August 10, 2026

Nigeria’s Super Eagles climb 12 spots to 26th in FIFA rankings after AFCON performance

Nigeria is now the third-best team in Africa, behind AFCON finalists Senegal, ranked 12th globally, and Morocco, ranked 8th globally.

• January 19, 2026
Super Eagles Squad
Super Eagles (Credit: NFF)

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have surged to 26th position in the latest FIFA World Ranking released on Monday, recording a remarkable 12-place jump.

The Eagles climbed from 38th following an impressive outing at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, where they finished third overall.

Nigeria is now the third-best team in Africa, behind AFCON finalists Senegal, ranked 12th globally, and Morocco, ranked 8th globally.

Algeria and Egypt, both eliminated by Nigeria at the tournament, occupy fourth and fifth places, respectively, in the African ranking.

The Eagles won six of their seven matches at AFCON, losing only to hosts Morocco on penalties in the semi-finals.

They sealed third place with a 4-2 victory over Egypt in the playoff match on Saturday.

Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Croatia make up the world’s top 10 teams.

(NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Nigeria Customs Service

States

Customs intercepted N3.24 billion smuggled goods in eight weeks: Official

Mr Aliyu said the seizures included 22 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 130.84kg.

States

New Anambra police commissioner assumes duty

Mr Ama pledged the command’s renewed determination to protect lives and property.

Umahi at construction site

Abuja

Abuja-Kano road to be completed in November: Umahi

Mr Umahi said the federal government had spent more than N200 billion on the project.

The National Population Commission (NPC)

NationWide

NPC targets 8,000 centres for digital birth registration

Mr Yusuf said the expansion was aimed at decentralising civil registration.

President Bola Tinubu

Agriculture

Livestock sector can drive Africa’s food security, economic growth: Tinubu

He said livestock was not only a source of food and nutrition but also a strategic economic asset.