Sports
Nigeria Now 48 In FIFA Ranking, France/Belgium Joint Top
Nigeria has moved one step to return to its former position of 48th after it lost a step in August which sat it slide to 49th in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
Nigeria now ranks 4th in Africa behind Tunisia at 23rd, Senegal at 25th, and Congo DR at 40th.
Also according to the latest ranking, Belgium climbed to the top of the Ranking, alongside 2018 FIFA World Cup winners France, which means that the top spot is currently being shared for the first time in the table’s 25-year history.
Similarly, Chile and Germany are tied at 12th position, while Sweden and Mexico are tied at 15th.
A pair of wins for the Red Devils (1st, up 1), including their first in the UEFA Nations League over Iceland (36th, down 4), has brought them level with Les Bleus (1st, unchanged) on 1,729 points. The only other change in the top ten sees Denmark (10th, down 1) slip below Spain (9th, unchanged).
Outside of the top ten, two Nations League wins for Ukraine (29th, up 6) over Czech Republic (47th, down 3) and Slovakia (26th, unchanged) means that they are the month’s biggest movers, while Germany (12th, up 3) have started to edge back toward the upper reaches.
The biggest leap in terms of points is in Africa, however, with Kenya (107th, up 5) clinching 22 points – 17.9 of which thanks to a 1-0 win over Ghana (51st, down 6) in CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.
As a result of that defeat to Kenya, the Black Stars join Slovenia (61st, down 6), as the biggest fallers of the month.
Among the 154 matches played over the past month, the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers have also resulted in some notable climbs, with Nicaragua (128th, up 4), St Lucia (166th, up 4), Belize (160th, up 3) and Aruba (185th, up 3) all moving up the table.
Meanwhile, Lebanon (77th, up 2), Luxembourg (82nd, up 3) and Kosovo (138th, up 3) – the latter courtesy of their first competitive win – are all currently in their highest-ever ranking position.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 25 October 2018.
See the FIFA Ranking showing the first 50 countries below:
Rank Team
1 Belgium
1 France
3 Brazil
4 CROCroatia 1634(1634.03) 1643 0
5 Uruguay
6 England
7 Portugal
8 Switzerland
9 Spain
10 Denmark
11 Argentina
12 Chile
12 Germany
14 Colombia
15 Sweden
15 Mexico
17 Netherlands
18 Poland
19 Wales
20 Italy
21 Peru
22 USA
23 Tunisia
24 Austria
25 Senegal
26 Slovakia
27 Romania
28 Northern Ireland
29 Ukraine
30 Republic of Ireland
31 Paraguay
32 Venezuela
33 Iran
34 Bosnia and Herzegovina
35 Serbia
36 Iceland
37 Costa Rica
38 Turkey
39 Scotland
40 Congo
41 Montenegro
42 Greece
43 Australia
44 Bulgaria
45 Morocco
46 Russia
47 Czech Republic
48 Nigeria
49 Hungary
50 Cameroon
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