The Super Eagles of Nigeria have made a significant leap in the latest FIFA World Ranking, climbing to 26th globally following their impressive third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, Bold Sports reports.
The ranking, released on Monday, mark a sharp rise from Nigeria’s previous position of 38th. In Africa, the Super Eagles are now ranked third, up from sixth, underlining the impact of their strong performances at the continental showpiece.
Nigeria’s rise comes despite a pre-AFCON friendly defeat to Egypt. The Super Eagles quickly put that setback behind them once the tournament began, producing a flawless group-stage campaign. They secured maximum nine points with convincing victories over Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda to top their group.
Momentum continued into the knockout rounds, where Nigeria delivered a dominant display in the round of 16, thrashing Mozambique to book a place in the quarterfinals. There, they outclassed Algeria to advance to the semifinals and confirm their status as one of the tournament’s standout teams.
Their title challenge, however, ended in the semifinals, where they were edged out by hosts Morocco after a tense penalty shootout. The Super Eagles responded positively to that disappointment, regrouping to defeat Egypt on penalties in the third-place playoff and end the tournament on a high.
As a result of their AFCON exploits, Nigeria recorded the biggest points gain in the latest FIFA rankings, accumulating +79.09 points. In Africa, they now trail only champions Senegal, who climbed to 12th in the world after lifting the AFCON trophy, and Morocco, who remain the continent’s highest-ranked side and have moved up to eighth globally.
Top five in Africa according to the latest FIFA rankings, Algeria, ranked 28th in the world, and Egypt, who climbed to 31st, complete Africa’s top five. Cameroon were the biggest movers overall on the continent, rising to 45th in the world and seventh in Africa, while Morocco achieved their highest-ever FIFA ranking.
At the top of the global standings, there was no change among the leading seven nations. European champions Spain remain number one, ahead of world champions Argentina in second place. France are third, followed by England in fourth and Brazil in fifth. Portugal sit sixth, with the Netherlands seventh.
Morocco’s rise to eighth saw Belgium drop to ninth and Germany slip to tenth, while Croatia fell just outside the top 10 to 11th.
The next FIFA World Rankings are scheduled to be released in 72 days, on April 1, 2026, when Nigeria will hope to build further on their upward trajectory.