World football governing body, FIFA Thursday, a few hours before the 2026 World Cup in North America, released its latest men’s world rankings.
Despite not making it to the World Cup, Nigeria’s Super Eagles maintain their position as the third-highest-ranked team in Africa and 26th in the world.
Eric Chelle’s side remain behind only Morocco and Senegal on the African continent, while traditional rivals South Africa and Ghana continue to trail significantly.
Nigeria’s current position can be traced back to their impressive campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which concluded in mid January. The three-time African champions climbed from 38th to 26th in the world rankings on January 19 after a strong tournament run.
The Super Eagles began that AFCON campaign with three consecutive group-stage victories against Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda. Their momentum continued in the knockout rounds as they comfortably defeated Mozambique before producing one of their most complete performances of the tournament to eliminate Algeria in the quarter-finals.
Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the final were ended by Morocco in a tense semi-final that was eventually decided on penalties. However, Chelle’s men bounced back strongly to defeat Egypt in the third-place playoff and secure the bronze medal.
That AFCON performance lifted Nigeria to their highest FIFA ranking in five years, and they have managed to preserve that position through a series of encouraging results in 2026. During the March international window, the Super Eagles defeated Jordan and drew with Iraq to remain among Africa’s elite teams.
