The Super Eagles have fallen to 44th position in the latest FIFA World Rankings released on Thursday, Bold Sports reports.
This marks an eight-place drop from their previous ranking of 36th last month, making it the biggest drop in the world for this period.
During the ranking window, Nigeria drew 1-1 away at Benin Republic and lost 1-0 at home to Rwanda in their final qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
At the top, Argentina retained their number-one spot, followed by France, Spain, England, Brazil, and Portugal in second through sixth, respectively. Portugal and the Netherlands each moved up one spot, while Belgium slipped from sixth to eighth. Italy are in ninth, while Germany returned to the top 10, replacing Colombia.
In Africa, Morocco continues to lead the continent, down one place to 14th globally. Senegal, now 17th in the world, remain second in Africa after climbing three places. Nigeria’s drop has seen them fall to fifth in Africa, with Algeria overtaking them to claim fourth.
Other notable African performers include Zambia (87th, up seven spots) and Niger (122nd, up nine spots). Niger’s back-to-back wins over Sudan (4-0) and Ghana (2-1) in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers contributed to their rise.
The next FIFA World Rankings will be published on December 19, 2024.