Nigeria have dropped five places in the latest FIFA men’s rankings for the month of March.
The Super Eagles, who were ranked 35th in the world in the ranking released in December, dropped 14 points to 40th.
The Eagles’ drop in the rankings was largely due to their poor performance in the recently Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against lowly-rated Guinea-Bissau in the month under review.
Jose Peseiro’s men were conquered by the Wild Dogs in the first leg of the double encounter at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja before labouring to a 1-0 win in Bissau in the second leg.
FIFA last announced the ranking for men on December 22, 2022 with the Eagles finishing the year in 35th position after losing one step.
The new version (of ranking) developed by FIFA named “SUM” relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the World Ranking.
The points which are added or subtracted are partially determined by the relative strength of the two opponents, including the logical expectation that teams higher in the rankings should fare better against teams lower in the rankings.
These wins and matches will have an impact on the latest FIFA World Rankings.
The new system also saw the Eagles drop further in Africa as they currently occupy sixth position.