Sport

Nigeria drop in latest FIFA rankings

April 9, 2015 2:40 pm

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are on a downward mobility in world football.

In the latest FIFA rankings released by the world football governing body on Thursday 9th April, Nigeria dropped from 41 to 45 places on the log but remain in the top 10 in Africa.

The slump was not unexpected as the team did not win the two games they played during the period under review.

The Super Eagles lost at home to Uganda 1-0 in Uyo and played a 1-1 draw with South Africa in Nelspruit.

Many African countries also suffered similar fates.

Algeria dropped from 18 to 21; Cote d’Ivoire from 20 to 23; Ghana dropped two places to 26; and Tunisia dropped five places to 30.

Globally, Belgium (3rd, up 1) have achieved their highest-ever position following two wins in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying, and now trail only Germany and Argentina.

Brazil (5th, up 1) and the Netherlands (6th, down 1) have traded places.

The Brazilians defeated France (11th, down 3) 3-1, while the Netherlands had to settle for a draw against Turkey (52nd, up 4) in their EURO qualifier.

Switzerland (9th, up 3) and Spain (10th, up 1) have re-entered the top ten at the expense of France and Italy (13th, down 3) respectively.

A total of 135 ‘A’ international were taken into account for the latest edition of the global ladder, taking the total number of games evaluated so far this year to 217.

Of the new matches, 25 were qualifiers for EURO 2016, 26 were 2018 World Cup qualifiers (CONCACAF, AFC) and 84 were friendlies.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on May 7, 2015.

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