Nigeria’s performance and eventual qualification for the Round of 16 at the just-concluded World Cup has impacted on the July FIFA ranking as Nigeria now occupies the 34th position.
In the ranking table released by the world football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria garnered 660 points and moved up 10 spots as against June’s 631 points at 44th position.
Although Nigeria might not have been too convincing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, their performance was still good enough to earn them a lift.
The African champions now place third in Africa, behind Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
Algeria who is now ranked Africa’s best team has 874 points to occupy the 24th position in the world, while Cote d’Ivoire has 850 points for 25th place in the world.
However, another African representative at the World Cup, Ghana, slipped down by one spot to 38th in the world and fifth in Africa, behind Egypt who remained static with 645 points.
On the global scene, four-time world champions Germany reaped the reward of their triumph at the World Cup.
They now lead the table for the first time in 20 years with 1,724 points.
World Cup runners-up Argentina are now second with 1,606 points, while third-place finishers Netherlands have moved 12 positions up the table and are now third in the world with 1,496 points.
Also, all the eight teams which dropped out of the World Cup at the quarter-finals stage have climbed up the ranking.
Colombia is now fourth, up by four spots, and Belgium fifth, up by six spots.
France is now 10th, up by seven spots, and Costa Rica is now 16th, up by 12 spots making it the central Americans’ highest-ever ranking.
If the winners have gained, the less successful teams on the other hand are left counting the cost of failure in their rankings.
Former champions Spain have fallen from the top spot to eighth place, while Portugal is now 11th, down by seven spots, and Italy is now 14th, down by five spots.
England is now placed 20th, down by 10 spots, while 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil have dropped four places to the seventh position.
According to the world governing body, the results of 111 international “A” matches have been taken into account for the current edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
“Sixty-four out of these matches were played at the World Cup in Brazil, 46 were friendlies and one was a CONCACAF continental qualifier.
“The total number of international “A” matches taken into account so far this year is now 362,’’ the FIFA Media Office said in a statement. (NAN)
