THE Super Falcons of Nigeria have dropped two spots in the FIFA world ranking for women.
The latest ranking was released today, with the nine-time African champions slipping from 32nd in the world to 34th and losing 22 ranking points.
Incidentally, since the last ranking in August, the Super Falcons have won qualifying matches for the 2024 Olympics and secured their spot at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after victories over Ethiopia and Cape Verde.
The Nigerian ladies had gained eight spots in August, moving up from 40th to 32nd, days after reaching the round of 16 at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and losing out on penalties to European champions England.
The Super Falcons are however still clear at the top of the African ranking.
They are the highest-ranked African team, followed by South Africa, who are 52nd in the world, 18 spots adrift.
Morocco (60th in the world), Ghana (61st) and Cameroon (68th) complete the African top five.
According to FIFA, over 400 international matches have been played since the last ranking on August 25, which is a record in an equivalent period.
Reigning world champions Spain climbed to the No.1 spot for the first time, becoming the fourth team in women’s football history to reach the top position, after the United States of America, Germany and Sweden.
USA, France, England, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, North Korea and Canada complete the global top 10.
The biggest movers by points are Tanzania (up 68.24 points), while Namibia climbed highest in terms of rank (up 14 places).
Sweden dropped the most points (down 71.08 points), while Cayman Islands dropped down 14 spots.
