Falcons drop seven places to 43rd in World Rankings
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have dropped seven places to 43rd in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, though they remain Africa’s top-ranked team. Read More: https://punchng.com/falcons-drop-seven-places-to-43rd-in-world-rankings/
Nigeria's Super Falcons have fallen seven spots in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, now sitting at 43rd place, down from 36th. Despite this decline, the 10-time African champions remain the top-ranked women's team on the continent. South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, and Zambia hold the second to fifth positions in Africa. This drop comes after a tough run at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where the Falcons lost their opening match to Malawi, beat Zambia, and defeated Egypt, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
The loss also prevented Nigeria from automatically qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, marking the first time they've missed the World Cup since its inception in 1991. In the play-off against South Africa, Thembi Kgatlana and Refiloe Jane scored for the hosts, while Christy Ucheibe scored for Nigeria from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Despite these setbacks, the Falcons secured two wins over Comoros in qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games. The next FIFA Women’s World Rankings update will be released on December 7, 2026.
Written by urgent.news from Punch's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
