After losing to Cameroon and Mexico in recent international friendlies, the Super Eagles risk losing top seedings at the AFCON and 2022 World Cup qualifiers after they dropped to 34th in the latest FIFA Ranking released by the world football governing body Thursday.
The Eagles are now ranked fifth in Africa behind Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
The FIFA Rankings are now crucial as they will be one of the yardsticks used to seed teams for next year’s AFCON in Cameroon as well as for the final 2022 World Cup playoffs in March.
The team’s results against Cameroon in recent friendlies and the NPFL stars loss to Mexico did not bode well for the country’s international rating.
A mainly experimental Super Eagles fell 1-0 to the Indomitable Lions in a first friendly in Austria, before they held the same team to a scoreless draw in a rematch days later.
A team of players from the NPFL will then be thrashed 4-0 by Mexico in another friendly in Los Angeles, USA, recently.
The Super Eagles will kick start qualification for next year AFCON with a double header match next month the first match against Liberia in Lagos.
Sports Minister Sunday Dare has charged the Niigeria Football Federation to ensure that they hit the ground running and ensure qualification for the Super Eagles in the AFCON and Qatar World Cup qualifiers.
