Nigeria have dropped to 45th in the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking released on Thursday to equal their lowest position in six years during a difficult period for the Super Eagles, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The slip of one place from 44th to 45th marks Nigeria’s worst ranking since June 2019, when they also sat 45th globally, and only just above their low of 46th in February that year.

The Eagles now find themselves outside the world’s top 40 and remain sixth in Africa, trailing Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, and Côte d’Ivoire.

FIFA confirmed that over 200 international fixtures were taken into account in compiling the September rankings, with Nigeria’s poor run of results contributing heavily to their fall. In the five matches under review, the Eagles managed just two wins, two defeats, and a draw.

A major part of the slump came during the African Nations Championship in Tanzania, where Eric Chelle’s home-based side were eliminated at the group stage.

Nigeria lost their opening fixture 1-0 to Senegal before suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat to the Sudan. They restored some pride with a 2-0 victory over Congo in their final match, but the early exit damaged their ranking points.

The main Eagles took off from there and fared slightly better in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. They edged Rwanda 1-0 in Uyo, thanks to a goal from Tolu Arokodare, before securing a 1-1 draw away to South Africa in Bloemfontein

Despite those results, the points accumulated were not enough to prevent Nigeria from sliding down the global order.

Elsewhere in Africa, Morocco strengthened their grip as the continent’s top-ranked side, moving up to 11th in the world after winning seven of their nine matches since July, including the CHAN trophy.

Senegal climbed to 18th, while Egypt held steady at 35th and Algeria fell to 38th. Ivory Coast rose to 44th, just ahead of Nigeria, while Tunisia jumped three places to 46th. Cameroon dropped to 52nd, South Africa improved to 55th, and Mali slipped two places to 56th.

Globally, Spain returned to the summit of the FIFA rankings for the first time since 2014, overtaking Argentina, which dropped to third after being leapfrogged by France.

Portugal, Croatia, and Italy also moved up within the top 10, while Germany slid to 12th following a defeat to Slovakia, who made the biggest jump by climbing ten places to 42nd.

The latest update paints a worrying picture for Nigeria. The Eagles sit third in their World Cup qualifying group with 11 points, three behind Benin in second and four adrift of leaders South Africa.

With only two matches remaining, they face the prospect of missing consecutive World Cup tournaments after their play-off defeat to Ghana denied them a spot at Qatar 2022.

They will have an opportunity to recover ground when they face Lesotho and Benin in October, fixtures that will also determine their qualification hopes. Anything less than two victories could deepen the crisis and prolong their stay outside the top 40 in the world rankings.

The next FIFA Men’s World Ranking will be published on 23 October 2025.