NIGERIA, Côte d’Ivoire, the two finalists at the just concluded 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have moved upward in the latest Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) ranking of countries in the men category.       

According to the FIFA ranking released on Thursday, February 15, Nigeria’s Super Eagles rapidly moved from 42nd to 28th position, closing the gap between fourteen places on the log.

While on the continent, the three-time African champions also moved three steps up from sixth to third.

The last time the Eagles recorded the highest global ranking was in May 2013, when they were ranked 28th also.

The Super Eagles’ upward movement in this latest ranking was due to their stellar performance at the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Eagles ended as the runners-up after losing 1-2 to the host nation, Cote d’Ivoire, at the continental football showpiece final.

The winner, Côte d’Ivoire, moved ten places from 49th in the world to 39th.

Morocco and Senegal are the two African countries within the first twenty countries in the ranking, as the former moved from 13th to 12th position to lead African countries while the latter leapfrogged from the 20th to 17th position.

Also, Angola moved up 24 places to 94th from 118th, Equatorial Guinea jerked up by nine spots to 74th, and South Africa by eight spots to 58th.

Some African countries that dropped in the ranking were Egypt, from 33rd to 36th, and Cameroon, from 46th to 51.

Ghana moved downward from 61st position to 67th.

In the CAF ranking, Morocco remained at the top of the continent, while Senegal maintained the second. Nigeria occupies the third while Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire are on the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Tunisia, Algeria and Mali occupy the sixth, seventh and eighth positions, while Cameroon and South Africa occupy the ninth and tenth positions.

Meanwhile, in the world ranking, Argentina remained number one while France and Brazil maintained second and third spots, respectively.

England and Belgium are in the fourth and fifth positions in the ranking.