By Akinwale Kasali
This is no good news for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the nation’s football administrators, Nigeria Football Federation and Soccer enthusiasts.
The Coach Gernot Rohr team has dropped to a fifth place in the continent. It dropped seven places in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Ranking for the month of July.
The Nigerian senior team is now ranked 34th globally with 1480 points.
In the last three international games of the Super Eagles, it failed to win any, losing 1-0 and playing a goalless draw against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in a double header international friendly in Vienna, Austria.
In the ranking released today, Thursday, 12 August, 2021, and published on FIFA’s official website, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco emerged top four in Africa respectively, with the three time African Champions, Super Eagles, occupying the fifth position.
In the world ranking, Belgium managed to retain its top spot despite being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the European.
Their last-eight opponents and eventual winners of the tournament, Italy, (5, +2), moved up into the top 5, just behind EURO runners-up England (4, no change). Just above that pair, Brazil (2, +1) andArgentina (6, +2) reaped the benefits of a triumphant Copa America campaign, while the two Gold Cup finalists broke into the top 10.
Victorious in that tournament and winners of the Concacaf Nations League as well, the United States of America (10, +10) climbed no fewer than ten places, eight more than Mexico (9, +2), which, despite losing in the final of both competitions, now sits one spot above their continental rivals.
In addition, it is worth noting the impressive progress made by Gold Cup invitees Qatar (42, +16), who reached the semi-finals in the USA, thereby recording the largest climb of the month and equalling their highest-ever position in the ranking, which dates back to the first edition in 1993.
A handful of other teams that did not take part in regional tournaments, such as Sierra Leone (106, +8), Eswatini (146, +8), Puerto Rico (171, +7), and Mongolia (185, +7), still managed to gain ground courtesy of positive friendly results.
“The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking will be published on 16 September 2021,” FIFA said on its website.
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