World Cup Absence Hurts Nigeria as Egypt Overtakes Super Eagles in FIFA Rankings

• Nigeria have retained their 26th position in the latest FIFA Rankings but dropped to fourth in Africa after missing the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Egypt overtaking the Super Eagles following their Round of 16 run.

Nigeria have maintained their 26th position in the latest FIFA Men’s World Rankings but have dropped to fourth among African nations following Egypt’s impressive performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The latest rankings, released by FIFA on Monday, see the Super Eagles remain on 1,585.2 points, ahead of Turkey, Australia, Algeria, Canada and Ivory Coast in the global standings.

Eric Chelle’s side has not played a competitive match since June, when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in an international friendly.

Nigeria’s decline in the continental rankings was largely due to Egypt’s run to the Round of 16 of the World Cup, where the Pharaohs narrowly lost 3-2 to eventual runners-up Argentina, earning enough points to move above the Super Eagles.

Morocco remains Africa’s highest-ranked team after reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup and climbing one place to sixth in the global rankings.

Senegal retained second place in Africa despite dropping three places worldwide, while Algeria remained fifth on the continent after slipping one place globally.

Despite failing to qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, Nigeria remains the second-highest-ranked nation among teams that missed the tournament, behind only Denmark, which occupies 21st place.

Former England captain John Terry also expressed disappointment over Nigeria’s absence, describing the Super Eagles as one of the major teams missing from the competition.

Nigeria’s World Cup qualification campaign ended in heartbreak after losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the CAF playoff final, marking the country’s second consecutive failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

At the top of the latest rankings, newly crowned world champions Spain reclaimed the No. 1 spot, pushing Argentina down to second, while France, England and Brazil complete the top five.

The next FIFA Men’s World Rankings will be released on October 7, 2026.