Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, ended 2024 ranked 44th in the world, according to the final FIFA World Rankings released on Thursday.
This represents a significant drop for the team, which started the year ranked 28th after an impressive performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where Nigeria went all the way to the final before narrowly losing to host Cote d’Ivoire.
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The Super Eagles played 15 matches in 2024, winning nine, drawing four, and losing five.
The team’s inconsistent performances, particularly in the World Cup qualifiers, have been a major factor in their decline in the rankings.
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Although the team had a relatively smooth ride in qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, their World Cup qualification campaign has been challenging.
Currently sitting fifth in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification group, the Super Eagles face an uphill task in securing a spot at the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
The Super Eagles’ 44th-place finish mirrors their position in December 2018, making it their joint-worst year-end ranking in recent memory.
This decline is a far cry from their rankings in previous years.
In 2023, Nigeria ended the year in 42nd place, while in 2022, they finished in 35th position.
The team also ranked 36th in 2021, 35th in 2020, and 31st in 2019.
With World Cup qualification looming large in 2025, the Super Eagles will need to regroup and find their form to avoid missing out on yet another global tournament.
Global standings
The final FIFA rankings for 2024 saw Argentina maintaining their top spot for the second year running.
Angola, meanwhile, registered the biggest climb over the past 12 months, progressing 32 places to their current perch of 85th.
The top 10 teams in the rankings remain unchanged, with France, Spain, England, and Brazil rounding out the top five.
Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Italy complete the top 10.
Hong Kong, China, achieved the biggest move by points, rising 4.18 points, while Vietnam made the biggest move by ranks, climbing two places to its current position of 114th.
READ ALSO: Super Eagles plummet eight places in latest FIFA rankings
In Africa, Morocco continued to lead the continent, ending the year in 13th place globally. Senegal (17th) and Algeria (33rd) rounded out Africa’s top three, while Nigeria, once ranked fourth earlier in the year, fell to fifth.
The next FIFA World Rankings will be released on 3 April 2025.
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