Nigeria’s Super Falcons have stayed in 36th place in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, even after winning a record 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title in Morocco.
The rankings, released by FIFA on Thursday, brought mixed results for top African teams. Despite going unbeaten in six matches, including a hard-fought win over host nation Morocco in the final, Nigeria’s global position did not improve.
Coach Justin Madugu’s team beat South Africa in the semi-finals, Zambia in the quarter-finals, and also defeated Tunisia and Botswana in the group stage. Only Algeria managed to hold them to a draw.
Their WAFCON 2024 victory means Nigeria now have more continental titles than any women’s team in the world. The United States, Brazil, and China have each won their regional titles nine times.
Still, the Super Falcons’ ranking has not changed since March 2024. Their best-ever FIFA ranking was 23rd in 2005. Nigeria remain the highest-ranked women’s team in Africa.
South Africa, who won the previous edition of WAFCON, are second in Africa but are ranked 54th globally. Morocco dropped four spots to 64th but remain third in Africa.
Zambia stay fourth on the continent, while Cameroon and Ghana are in fifth and sixth. Cameroon are now 66th in the world, and Ghana dropped to 67th, even though they won the bronze medal at the tournament.
The rest of Africa’s top 10 includes Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Algeria, and Senegal.
Globally, Spain have moved back to first place despite losing the UEFA Women’s Euro final to England. The United States dropped to second, with Sweden now third and England in fourth. Germany, France, Brazil, Japan, Canada, and North Korea complete the world’s top 10.