FIFA rankings: Morocco maintain lead, as Nigeria drop to 6th in Africa, 40th globally

Nigeria have dropped five places in the latest FIFA men’s rankings for the month of February, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Super Eagles, who were ranked 35th in the world in the ranking released in December, dropped 14 points to 40th.

The Eagles’ drop in the rankings was largely due to their poor performance in the recently played Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against lowly-rated Guinea-Bissau in the month under review.

Jose Peseiro’s men were conquered by the Wild Dogs in the first leg of the double encounter at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja before labouring to a 1-0 win in Bissau in the second leg of the double-header encounter.

The three-time Africa champions dropped further in Africa as they currently occupy the sixth position.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s impressive run saw them maintain their number one spot on the continent and 11th in the world. They are followed by second-place Senegal, who also moved one place in the world to 18th.

Tunisia maintained its position as the third-best team in Africa and 28th in the world, while Algeria leapfrogged Egypt to occupy the fourth position in Africa while also moving six places in the world to the 34th position. Egypt, who were 39th in the previous rankings, moved up four places to be ranked 35th in the world and fifth in Africa.

Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali and Ghana complete the top 10 in Africa. Punch