The Super Eagles of Nigeria finished 2023 in the 42nd spot in the latest FIFA ranking after a year filled with mixed results.
After failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Super Eagles regrouped themselves under the leadership of coach Jose Peseiro ahead of 2023.
They started the first half of the year on a good night by easily sailing through the qualification series for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) by finishing top of their qualification group.
But the second half of the year ended a bit disappointing, especially when the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers started. The start of the qualification series became the lowest point of the Super Eagles in 2023, aside from drawing with Saudi Arabia in an international friendly and struggling to beat ten-man Mozambique in another friendly.
Super Eagles' World Cup qualification series started with a 1-1 draw against lowly-rated Lesotho and then continued with another 1-1 draw against another lowly-rated team, Zimbabwe.
These two results made the Super Eagles finish third on the 2026 World Cup qualification table this year. They reminded the team's supporters how unsound the team is ahead of the 2023 AFCON, which will commence in Ivory Coast on January 13.
The Eagles finished this year with four wins, three draws, and one defeat, which means that it was not a bad year for the team, but the calibre of teams they drew with made it not as good as expected.
Hence, Jose Peseiro and his team finished the year as the 42nd-ranked team in the world and 6th ranked team in Africa.
Morocco is still the highest-ranked team in Africa and the thirteenth-most-ranked country in the world, according to the latest FIFA ranking. They are followed in second place by Senegal, which is ranked 20th in the globe.
Tunisia is ranked 28th in the world and third in Africa, while Algeria and Egypt, which came in at 30th and 33rd globally, respectively, rounded out the top five spots in Africa.
Argentina, England, Belgium, France, and Brazil round out the top five ranked countries in the world.
The remaining 10 teams in the world FIFA ranking are Spain, Portugal, Holland, Croatia, Italy, and Spain.
Comments