THE Super Falcons have climbed up in the FIFA ranking for the first time since October last year.
The Nigerian national team rose two spots from 42nd in the world to 40th, with just over a month left before the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Since the last FIFA ranking in March, the nine-time African champions have played two friendlies and won them both, beating Haiti (53rd in the world) 2-1 and New Zealand (26th in the world) 3-0 in April.
The Super Falcons retain their spot as the No.1 African team in the ranking, followed by continental champions South Africa (54th in the world).
Incidentally, all the teams occupying the third to fifth spots in the African ranking did not qualify for the World Cup.
Cameroon are third in Africa (56th in the world), Ghana fourth (58th) and Cote d’Ivoire fifth (66th).
Africa’s other World Cup representatives are Morocco (seventh in Africa, 72nd in the world) and Zambia (ninth in Africa, 77th in the world).
There were mixed fortunes for Nigeria’s World Cup group opponents, with Olympic champions Canada dropping from sixth to seventh, while Australia and Ireland maintained their 10th and 22nd spots respectively.
The top five in the world have remained unchanged, with USA in first place followed by the European quartet of Germany, Sweden, England and France.
The next ranking will be released on August 25, after the Women’s World Cup scheduled for July 20 to August 20.
