The Super Falcons of Nigeria gained one spot in the FIFA World rankings released on Friday while maintaining top spot in Africa.
The reigning African champions haven’t played a game since they were eliminated from the Olympic Games qualifiers by Cote d’Ivoire at the Agege Soccer Temple in Lagos, Nigeria.
They however remain top on the rankings in Africa while moving up one spot in the world rankings from 39th to 38th, as the only African team in the top 50.
The biggest news on the continent however is from the camp of Zambia who have now gained 31 points and moved up six places on the world rankings after sending shockwaves down the spine of everyone with their Olympic qualification at the expense of almighty Cameroon.
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Having lost 3-2 in Yaounde, Zambia won 2-1 in Lusaka and to everyone’s surprise, the Shepolopolo secured the sole African Olympic games ticket on away goals to make their maiden appearance at the Olympics.
This kind of performance usually doesn’t go unnoticed as it has earned the Copper Queens a top 100 spot in the world rankings although they still remain 12th on the continent.
For Cameroon, the performance resulted in a slip by two spots to 51, thus moving out of the world’s top 50. They however remain second in Africa behind Nigeria; while South Africa, Ghana and the Ivory Coast complete the top five women’s teams on the continent.
Meanwhile things remain relatively unchanged at the top as the World Champions, USA maintain number one spot after winning the SheBelieves Cup this March, while Germany, France, Netherlands and Sweden make up the world’s top five teams.
The next women’s FIFA world ranking is expected to be released in June 2020.
