Nigeria’s Super Eagles have once again dropped in the monthly FIFA rankings, primarily due to the precarious nature of their qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
The three-time African champions are currently ranked as the 45th best team in the world, a position lower than their ranking in August, following their victory over Rwanda 1-0 and a draw against hosts South Africa at 1-1 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month.
The Super Eagles are at risk of not qualifying for the World Cup for the second consecutive time.
They currently sit third in Group C with 11 points from eight matches, trailing leaders South Africa by six points, with only the group winners assured of automatic qualification to next year’s tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
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Their final two matches will take place next month, one away against Lesotho and the other at home against the second-placed Benin Republic.
The teams that finish as the top four runners-up from the nine groups will qualify for the continental playoffs, while the winner of each group will advance to the continental playoffs for a chance to secure a potential tenth ticket from Africa.
However, it will be tremendous to note that this points system was implemented, where points are granted according to the outcomes of all FIFA-recognized full international matches.
On this note, the ranking system has undergone multiple revisions, typically in response to critiques that the previous calculation method failed to accurately represent the relative strengths of the national teams, so every country gets ranked according to their performance.
