Nigeria move to 29th in FIFA rankings as Ronaldo’s Portugal join top five

By EMMANUEL EGOBIAMBU

The Super Eagles have moved two places to 29th in the latest world rankings. This is the first time FIFA will be releasing the rankings in six months.

In the latest rankings released by the football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria got 1493 points even though they did not play a game within the period under review.

Gernot Rohr’s men are now third on the continent, trailing Senegal (20th) and Tunisia (26th) in first and second respectively.

Algeria (35), Morocco (43), Ghana (46), Egypt (51), Cameroon (53), Mali (57) and DR Congo (57) in that order, make up the top ten on the continent.

Nigeria last played November 2019 against Lesotho in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.

Although they were billed to play a double-header against Sierra Leone in a 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, the match was, however, moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October, the 1994 African champions will take on Ivory Coast and Tunisia in two tune-up games in Austria.

African champions Algeria (35), Morocco (43), Ghana (46), Egypt (51), Cameroon (53), Mali (57) and DR Congo (57) in that order, complete Africa’s top 10.

The Eagles’ last game was in November 2019 when they defeated Lesotho 4-2 in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.

On the global scene, Portugal joined the top five, moving from seventh to fifth on the back of their spectacular UEFA Nations League games played earlier in September.

Belgium are still number one in the world, followed by France, Brazil and England respectively.

Uruguay, Spain, Croatia, Argentina and Colombia make up the first 10 from sixth respectively.

FIFA will release the next rankings on October 22nd, 2020. (Channels TV)