Sports Briefs
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SUPER Eagles of Nigeria have continued their steady surge in the latest FIFA Rankings released by the world football governing body. Gernot Rohr’s men moved up one place to seventh in the continent while also climbed to 50th spot globally. Despite not playing any game in the period under review for the classifications, Nigeria still was able to accumulate three more points to stand at 619.
The January lift was good news to Nigerian football fans who were disappointed that Eagles drop one spot in the December ranking despite beating Algeria 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier in November, 2016. Last month, Eagles were placed eighth in Africa and 51st in the world with 616 ranking points.
Nigeria’s best placing in the FIFA rankings was fifth, a position attained in 1994 following an impressive display of winning the Africa Cup of Nations and its debut World Cup appearance that year in the United States.
Senegal, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria are the top five sides in Africa while Argentina retains her place at the summit of the ranking. Small Southern African nation of Swaziland, meanwhile, reached her best ever position of 99 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
Argentina finished 2016 out in front of arch rivals Brazil, which placed second, to inherit the ‘team of the year’ title from Belgium, displaced from the FIFA summit by the Edgardo Bauza-coached Albiceleste in April.
The top 34 positions remain unchanged with Brazil and Germany in the second and third placed teams respectively. Chile and Belgium complete the top five in descending order of global ranking. The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 9 February 2017.
— Jan 23, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT
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