By Our Correspondent
National News – Nigeria national football team, popularly known as the Super Eagles, have retained their 26th position in the latest FIFA World Ranking released after the March international window.
The ranking update follows Nigeria’s two friendly matches in March 2026, where the team defeated Iran national football team 2–1 and played a 2–2 draw with the Jordan national football team.
The results slightly affected Nigeria’s points tally but were not enough to change their global position.
The Super Eagles gained 5.34 ranking points from their victory over Iran, a higher-ranked opponent, but lost 1.81 points after drawing with Jordan, a team ranked significantly lower in the global standings.
According to FIFA’s ranking methodology, which operates on the Elo rating system, points are calculated based on match outcomes, opponent strength, match importance, and expected results.
Wins against stronger teams usually earn more points, while draws or losses against lower-ranked teams can reduce a nation’s overall score.
Despite the mixed outcomes during the March window, Nigeria maintained 1585.09 ranking points, preserving the improvement recorded earlier in the year following their strong outing at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 tournament.
The Super Eagles finished third in the competition, a performance that lifted the team 12 places from 38th to 26th in the FIFA rankings.
The current position represents Nigeria’s best FIFA ranking in 16 years.
The last time the country ranked higher was in May 2010, when the team placed 21st in the world.
Within Africa, Morocco national football team remains the continent’s highest-ranked side and currently sits eighth globally after securing strong results against Ecuador national football team and Paraguay national football team during the international break.
Meanwhile, Senegal national football team dropped two places to 14th in the world but retained second position in Africa, while Nigeria stands third on the continent, ahead of Algeria national football team, Egypt national football team, and Ivory Coast national football team.
Globally, France national football team now tops the rankings, moving ahead of Spain national football team, while reigning world champions Argentina national football team occupy third place.
Other teams completing the top ten include England national football team, Portugal national football team, Brazil national football team, Netherlands national football team, Morocco, Belgium national football team, and Germany national football team.
The next FIFA ranking update is expected after the June 2026 international window, when national teams will again play friendly matches as part of preparations for the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup.
