Super Eagles Drop Places in Latest FIFA Rankings After Missing 2026 World Cup
- Nigeria slipped one place among African nations in the latest FIFA rankings following their absence from the 2026 World Cup
- Egypt's strong performance at the tournament in the USA saw them leapfrog the Super Eagles in the continental standings
- Morocco climbed to sixth in the world, closing in on Nigeria's historic best ranking as Africa's top-ranked side shifts
Nigeria's Super Eagles have paid a price for missing the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the updated global rankings released after the tournament concluded in the United States.
Spain claimed the 2026 FIFA World Cup title with a 1-0 win over Argentina, ending Lionel Messi's final tilt at the tournament's top prize.
Source: Getty Images
The results from the competition fed directly into the updated FIFA rankings, and nations that participated gained or protected ground that Nigeria could not contest.
Super Eagles’ latest FIFA rank
As noted by FIFA, the Super Eagles remain 26th in the world overall, but Egypt's impressive showing at the World Cup was enough to push them past Nigeria in the African standings.
Morocco also moved up to sixth place globally, just one position short of Nigeria's historic fifth-place ranking, which stands as the highest ever achieved by an African team and was set back in 1994.
Nigeria's absence from the World Cup followed the Super Eagles' loss to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African playoff final, missing out on automatic qualification.
A subsequent attempt by the Nigeria Football Federation to seek entry through a petition to FIFA, which alleged that DR Congo had fielded ineligible players, was dismissed by the governing body.
The next chance for the Super Eagles to recover lost ground in the standings comes in September, when the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers get underway, as noted by the NFF.
Chelle reflects on World Cup miss
Legit.ng previously reported that Eric Chelle reflected on Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the World Cup while speaking in an interview during the tournament.
The manager who took charge of the Super Eagles midway through the qualifiers admitted that his second game in charge cost the team the ticket.
Source: Legit.ng
