TheCable

The Super Eagles of Nigeria moved from 45th position to 43rd in the latest ranking released on Thursday by the world soccer ruling body FIFA.

The team played no match in the month under review but still maintained top 50 position in the world and top 10 in Africa where it is placed 7th.

Globally, the ranking reveals two changes in the top ten, with Belgium overtaking Argentina to move into second place, their highest-ever position since the launch of the world ranking.

The other change sees France return to the top ten in ninth place at the expense of Switzerland (11th, down 2).

The biggest movers this month are to be found in the bottom half of the table, with Madagascar (113th, up 37) in particular benefiting from having recently played six matches and winning four to make the biggest gain of all 209 teams in the ranking.

In addition to Belgium, three other teams – Congo (47th, up 2), Timor-Leste (146th, up 5) and Bhutan (159th, up 4) – are also in their highest-ever position in the ranking.

The rise of Equatorial Guinea (50th, up 11) also means that CAF have increased their number of top 50 teams to 11.

The other confederations’ share of the top 50 is as follows: UEFA 29, CONMEBOL 6, CONCACAF 3, AFC 1 (down 1) and OFC 0.