Pre-World Cup FIFA rankings: Super Eagles hold top 3 spot as South Africa, Ghana learn latest positions

Just hours before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, FIFA released its latest men's world rankings, Soccernet.ng reports.

The latest release shows that Nigeria's Super Eagles maintain their position as the third-highest-ranked team in Africa and 26th in the world.

The ranking confirms Nigeria's steady progress over the last 18 months despite failing to qualify for the World Cup. Eric Chelle's side remain behind only Morocco and Senegal on the African continent, while traditional rivals South Africa and Ghana continue to trail significantly.

Nigeria's current position can be traced back to their impressive campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which concluded in mid January. The three-time African champions climbed from 38th to 26th in the world rankings on January 19 after a strong tournament run.

The Super Eagles began that AFCON campaign with three consecutive group-stage victories against Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda. Their momentum continued in the knockout rounds as they comfortably defeated Mozambique before producing one of their most complete performances of the tournament to eliminate Algeria in the quarter-finals.

Nigeria's hopes of reaching the final were ended by Morocco in a tense semi-final that was eventually decided on penalties. However, Chelle's men bounced back strongly to defeat Egypt in the third-place playoff and secure the bronze medal.

That AFCON performance lifted Nigeria to their highest FIFA ranking in five years, and they have managed to preserve that position through a series of encouraging results in 2026. During the March international window, the Super Eagles defeated Jordan and drew with Iraq to remain among Africa's elite teams.

World Cup results could affect Nigeria's position

Nigeria would have hoped to improve further after winning the Unity Cup in London. The Super Eagles defeated Zimbabwe and Jamaica on their way to lifting the trophy, extending the positive momentum that has characterised much of Chelle's tenure.

The team followed that achievement with a commendable 2-2 draw away in Poland before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat against Portugal on Wednesday night. Despite the loss, Nigeria remain firmly established as Africa's third-ranked nation.

However, their absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup could create challenges in the coming weeks. While the tournament takes place across North America, the Super Eagles will not be involved and therefore will not have the opportunity to earn valuable FIFA ranking points.

That situation could allow some of Africa's World Cup representatives to close the gap. Morocco remain Africa's highest-ranked team and sit seventh in the world, while Senegal occupy second place on the continent.

Behind Nigeria, Algeria are ranked fourth in Africa, followed by Egypt in fifth and Côte d'Ivoire in sixth. Strong World Cup performances from any of those nations could potentially reduce the distance separating them from the Super Eagles in future rankings.

Cameroon, Tunisia, DR Congo and Mali complete Africa's top ten nations. South Africa, who begin their World Cup campaign today against co-hosts Mexico, sit 11th in Africa and 60th globally. Ghana are 14th on the continent and 73rd in the world after moving up one place in the latest standings.

Although both South Africa and Ghana will have the opportunity to gain ranking points at the World Cup, they remain well behind Nigeria. It would require an exceptional tournament run for either nation to seriously threaten the Super Eagles' position.

At the top of the global rankings, reigning world champions Argentina climbed two places to reclaim the number-one spot. With Lionel Messi still leading the squad, the South Americans will be aiming to defend the title they won in Qatar four years ago.

Spain remain second in the world, while France slipped to third place. England, Portugal and Brazil retained fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively. Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany round out the world's top ten teams as the countdown to the World Cup comes to an end.