SportsNigeria Slides To 34 In New FIFA Ranking; Belgium Keeps Lead And...

Nigeria Slides To 34 In New FIFA Ranking; Belgium Keeps Lead And US Makes Top 10

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August 12, (THEWILL) – The latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking dropped on Thursday with further confirmation of the slope that Nigeria has witnessed in recent times as the country’s Super Eagles suffered a seven-point drop that saw them go from 32nd in May to 34th.

It comes as a direct consequence of the inability of Gernot Rohr’s squad to fashion out a victory from any one of their last three international fixtures, which, as THEWILL reported, the Super Eagles lost twice and drew.

While countries like Tunisia, who defeated Mali in their June 15 friendly, and Algeria, who won two of two friendlies played in June, and unsurprisingly emerged as Africa’s top sides together with Senegal, Nigeria slipped to fifth on the continent.

Glo

It is an unsettling notion that while Algeria for instance gained 12 points from last month to continue their ascent by taking Nigeria’s place, Nigeria dropped a drastic seven points. Now, it is behind 21st place Senegal, top-most side in Africa after gaining three points, followed by 28th-placed Tunisia that lost two points but remained second.

Third in Africa, where Nigeria proudly stood last month, is Algeria with their high gain and overall 30th position. Just above Nigeria is Morocco. They beat Ghana and Burkina Faso in their June friendlies to climb on a nine-point gain to 32nd in the world and fourth in Africa.

Nigeria’s June friendlies were disappointing, even if Rohr claimed they helped to build experience and some players were unavailable for the doubleheader against Cameroon that Nigeria first lost and then drew. The excuses may continue with the fact that the Super Eagles team that lost 4-0 to Mexico in the final friendly was composed of home-based players, but the ranking takes the loss into consideration in grading each team.

As countries prepare for the World Cup qualifiers in the next international window, Rohr must be ready to exemplify that the lessons learnt from the losses and draw have been invested into making the Super Eagles perform better, qualify with encouraging displays while improving the country’s ranking. That is what will make this slide easy to swallow because there are improvements in other teams across board on the continent.

Globally, the ranking showed that Belgium retained its top spot. It had accumulated enough points to keep the lead even though the country was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Euro 2020 Championship and did not make it to the semis.

The performance of the Euro competition’s eventual winners of the tournament, Italy allowed them move two points up into the top 5. Co-finalists England were perched in 4th place with no movement while Brazil, runners-up at Copa America moved up by a point to second. France dropped to third after a disappointing Euro 2020 and Copa America winners Argentina followed in 6th on the back of a two-point climb.

In another jump from victory at a continental competition, the USA heaved themselves into the Top 10 after a glorious CONCACAF run and a 10-point gain. Co-finalists Mexico remained above the USA in 9th on a two-point gain.

The highest gain was made by Gold Cup invitees Qatar, who climbed to 42nd in the world by adding 16 points to their tally. They impressed with a semi-finals showing in the USA, to equal their highest-ever position in the ranking, a 1993 ranking of 42.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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