Nigeria climbed two places higher to rise to third position in Africa as per the latest rankings, while Morocco and Senegal remain the top two nations on the continent.
The Super Eagles’ rise comes on the back of an impressive display at the recently concluded 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco, where they ended up with the bronze medal. Their hopes of reaching a second successive final were dashed when they suffered penalty shootout heartbreak to the hosts in the semifinals.
However, they bounced back strongly and defeated Egypt in the third-place playoff match to seal a record ninth bronze medal at the tournament. The three-time African champions recorded victories in six of their seven matches in Morocco and scored a tournament high 14 goals, which is one more than their closest challengers Senegal, who scored 13.
They also recorded the biggest win of the tournament with a 4-0 result over Mozambique in the Round of 16, earning them an impressive leap in the latest rankings.
Despite losing the final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament to Senegal, Morocco remain Africa’s highest-ranked team. The Atlas Lions succumbed to an extra-time strike by Pape Gueye to lose 1-0 in a dramatic match. Chaos ensued towards the end of regular time after the referee’s controversial decision to award a penalty kick to the hosts, before the match eventually continued after a lengthy delay.
Senegal, reigning champions of Africa, remain in second place while Algeria and Egypt are fourth and fifth respectively. The former were knocked out by Nigeria at the quarterfinal stage, while the latter also suffered defeat to the Super Eagles in the bronze medal match at the tournament.
The latest top five rankings are: Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt.
