Republic of Benin, Togo, Guinea, Uganda, Mali, Saudi Arabia and many
other countries once considered as ‘small countries’ in football are now
ahead of Nigeria in the July FIFA/ Coca Cola World Ranking released on
Thursday morning.
Nigeria moved down nine places to place 70 on the table, while Algeria
is ranked first in Africa with Cote D’ivoire in second while Ghana third
in Africa.
The huge drop in ranking for Nigeria, the once powerhouse of African
football was not totally unexpected given the fact that the country
failed to qualify for the All African Cup of Nations scheduled to hold
next year.
Portugal meanwhile have leap frogged Spain and Brazil into sixth position following Euro 2016 triumph.
The ranking’s top five remains unchanged, with Argentina, Belgium,
Colombia, Germany and Chile – all of whom reached the latter stages of
their respective tournaments this summer.
Wales, following a good run at Euro 2016 climbed up 15 places and are
now 11th on the rankings while Iceland have climbed to 22nd.
