By Augustine Akhilomen
Nigeria’s Super Eagles continues rise in the latest FIFA rankings have seen the team moved from 41st in the world to 40th after Thursday’s release by the world football governing body.
The three-time Africa champions drew 1-1 with the Teranga Lions of Senegal in an international friendly match that was played at the Hive Stadium in London in March while the game against Burkina Faso was cancelled due to the British embassy failure to grant visa to nine of their players.
The latest development means the Super Eagles are now ranked 5th in Africa against 7th in last month’s rankings. Nigeria’s main African Nations Cup qualifying foes South Africa and Libya occupy the 64th and 91st position in the global ranking while the last opponent Seychelles are ranked 196th.
Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon and Burkina Faso are the best four teams in Africa in that order. The Super Eagles other two rivals to book a ticket to the 2018 World Cup – Algeria and Zambia – sit in the 54th and 97th place respectively in the updated ranking.
The Samba Boys of Brazil remain at the top spot while Argentina, Germany, Chile and Colombia are the top four teams in the world. The next ranking will be published by the official website of Fifa, fifa.com, on 4 May 2017.
Top Ten African Teams
1) Egypt
2) Senegal
3) Cameroon
4) Burkina Faso
5) Nigeria
6) Congo DR
7) Tunisia
8) Ghana
9) Ivory Coast
10) Morocco