Nigeria’s Super Eagles have retained their 26th position in the latest FIFA Men’s World Rankings but have dropped to fourth in Africa following Egypt’s impressive run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The rankings, released by FIFA on Monday, show Nigeria unchanged on 1,585.2 points. The Super Eagles remain ahead of Turkey, Australia, Algeria, Canada and Ivory Coast, who occupy 27th to 31st positions respectively.
Nigeria have not played a competitive match since June, when Eric Chelle’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in an international friendly.
Although their global ranking remains unchanged, the Super Eagles lost their place among Africa’s top three after Egypt advanced to the Round of 16 at the World Cup before losing 3-2 to Argentina. The Pharaohs’ strong tournament performance lifted them above Nigeria in the continental rankings.
Morocco remain Africa’s highest-ranked team after reaching the World Cup quarter-finals, climbing one place to sixth in the world. Senegal continue to rank second in Africa despite slipping three places globally, while Algeria remain fifth on the continent after dropping one spot in the world rankings.
Despite missing out on the 2026 World Cup, Nigeria remain the second-highest-ranked nation not to qualify for the tournament, behind Denmark, who are 21st in the world.
The Super Eagles’ absence from the expanded 48-team competition has continued to draw criticism from football personalities. Former England captain John Terry recently described Nigeria as one of the biggest teams missing from this year’s tournament.
Nigeria narrowly missed qualification after finishing second behind South Africa in their CAF qualifying group. They kept their hopes alive by defeating Gabon in the playoff semi-final but were eliminated after losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the playoff final.
The defeat marked Nigeria’s second consecutive failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, having also missed the 2022 edition in Qatar.
Following the playoff loss, the Nigeria Football Federation challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the team fielded ineligible players during the campaign. FIFA dismissed the appeal.
At the top of the latest rankings, newly crowned world champions Spain reclaimed the No. 1 spot after winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Argentina dropped to second, while France, England and Brazil complete the top five.
FIFA is scheduled to release its next men’s world rankings on October 7, 2026.