Nigeria have retained their 26th position in the latest FIFA Men's World Rankings released on Monday but have dropped to fourth among African nations following Egypt's impressive run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Super Eagles, led by Eric Chelle, remain on 1,585.2 ranking points, keeping them ahead of Turkey, Australia, Algeria, Canada and Côte d'Ivoire, who occupy 27th to 31st places respectively in the global standings.
Nigeria have not played a competitive match since June, when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to former European champions Portugal in an international friendly.
The Super Eagles' drop in the continental rankings came after Egypt reached the Round of 16 at the World Cup, where the Pharaohs bowed out following a narrow 3-2 defeat to Argentina. Their performance was enough to elevate them to third among African teams.
Morocco remain Africa's highest-ranked nation after reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament, climbing one place to sixth in the world. Senegal retained second place on the continent despite slipping three places globally, while Algeria dropped one spot in the world rankings but remained fifth in Africa.
Despite missing the expanded 48-team World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, Nigeria remain the second-highest-ranked nation among countries that failed to qualify. Only Denmark, ranked 21st in the world, sit above the Super Eagles in that category.
Former England captain and Chelsea defender John Terry also lamented Nigeria's absence from the tournament, describing the Super Eagles as one of the competition's biggest missing attractions.
