The Super Falcons of Nigeria have moved up eight spots from 40th to 32nd in the world based on FIFA’s women’s latest rankings.
According to the list released on Friday by the world football governing body, the eleven-time African champions also remained rooted as the foremost female team on the continent.
The impressive leap by the Falcons in the latest rankings is largely due to the team’s stellar outing at the just concluded 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Nigerian team made it into the second round of the competition after a draw against Canada in their first game, a win against co-hosts Australia in their second match and a draw against the Republic of Ireland which helped them qualify out of group B with five points.
The Nigerians played England, the European champions, in the second round and were defeated 4-2 on penalties.
The Falcons were then ranked 10th best team after the conclusion of the tournament. Tournament newcomers Morocco proved to be one of the revelations where they reached the round of 16 as they jumped 14 places to 58th.Africa’s other two participants at the tournament South Africa moved up nine places to 45th and Zambia climbed to 69th.
Sweden, which finished third, has surpassed the United States, which has slid to third place for the first time in history.
The next FIFA women’s world ranking will be released on December 15, 2023.
