Eagles Drop Four Places to 45th on FIFA Ranking

0

Super-EaglesNigeria’s poor ratings in global football ranking continued yesterday with  the Super Eagles slipping to 45th position from the 41st they occupied in March.

In the latest April FIFA Ranking released by the game’s governing body yesterday, Eagles poor showing in the two friendlies with Uganda and South Africa accounted largely for the slip of the 2013 AFCON champions.

Super Eagles lost 1-0 to the Cranes of Uganda in Uyo and drew 1-1 with the Bafana Bafana in Nelspruit.
In the continental ranking,  Nigeria dropped one place to be ranked eighth in Africa behind Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Senegal, Cape Verde Island and Guinea.

Algeria remained at the summit of African football despite dropping three places to 21st position in the world while second-placed Cote d’Ivoire slipped three places to 23rd and Ghana dropped two spots to 26th in the world but remained third in Africa.
The Black Stars are followed by Tunisia (30), Senegal (36), Cape Verde Island (37), Guinea (41), Nigeria (45), Cameroun (48) and Congo (49) to complete Africa’s top ten.

Interestingly, Eagles’ Group G opponents in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers also saw mixed fortunes as Egypt rose seven places to 51st while Tanzania and Chad both dropped seven and three places respectively to finish in 107th and 155th spots.
Their rankings however did not mean they will be easy prey for the Eagles as South Africa and Congo proved in the AFCON 2015 qualifiers, denying Nigeria the bragging right to qualify to defend the AFCON 2013 in Equatorial Guinea.

Editor’s Picks  94 sacked Enugu College lecturers beg Gov. Mbah for reinstatement 

Both Germany and Argentina held firmly to the first and second positions on the FIFA /Coca-Cola World Ranking while Belgium moved up one place to displace Colombia in third and fourth place with Brazil and Uruguay both moving up one spot to fifth and eighth respectively.

Switzerland climbed up three places into the top ten, occupying the ninth position, while Spain who crashed out of the top 10 last month moved up one place to nick the tenth spot at the expense of France and Italy who fell three places to 11th and 13th respectively.
The next ranking will be released on May 7, 2015

AFRICA’S TOP TEN
1. Algeria
2. Cote d’Ivoire
3. Ghana
4. Tunisia
5. Senegal
6. Cape Verde
7. Guinea
8. Nigeria
9. Cameroun
10. Congo