Argentina Overtakes France, Super Eagles Maintain Current Ranking

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nigeria’s Super Eagles remain the third‑highest ranked team in Africa and 26th in the world according to the latest FIFA ranking released just hours before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

Although the Super Eagles did not qualify for the World Cup, Coach Eric Chelle’s performance over the past 18 months demonstrates the team’s steady progress back to relevance.

Nigeria is positioned only behind Morocco and Senegal on the continent, while traditional rivals such as South Africa and Ghana, who are also World Cup‑bound, lag considerably.

As expected, the Super Eagles’ strong showing at the last AFCON in January, the defense of the Unity Cup in London, and a recent friendly that saw them hold Poland to a draw all helped Nigeria maintain its status quo.

Portugal, a World Cup‑bound side, ended the Super Eagles’ 12‑match unbeaten run with a 2‑1 win in their final warm‑up match in Leiria early this week.

Ranked fifth in the world and featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal’s Seleção das Quinas took the lead after 23 minutes through Chelsea star Pedro Neto. The Eagles, 21 places below Portugal in the FIFA Rankings, equalized in the 39th minute when Jerome Akor scored, assisted by Fisayo Dele‑Bashiru. Substitute Francisco Conceição secured the winner for the hosts in the 75th minute. A victory might have boosted Nigeria’s rating in the latest classification released yesterday.

The three‑time African champions moved from 38th to 26th in the world rankings on January 19 after a strong tournament run. That AFCON performance lifted Nigeria to its highest FIFA ranking in five years, and the team has preserved that position through a series of encouraging results in 2026.

Morocco remains Africa’s highest‑ranked team and sits seventh in the world, while Senegal occupies second place on the continent.

Behind Nigeria, Algeria is ranked fourth in Africa, followed by Egypt in fifth and Côte d’Ivoire in sixth.

Globally, reigning world champions Argentina have overtaken France to become the new Number 1 in the FIFA Ranking. France dropped to third, Spain is second, England is fourth, and Portugal, Brazil, Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany complete the Top 10 of global football.