Nigeria dropped a point in the latest FIFA World ranking released on Thursday, but the general slump in the overall standing helped the Eagles from 9th spot in Africa to 7th.

The Rankings to reflect the performance of national teams between January and early February showed Nigeria shed a point and stepped down from 51st to 52nd in the world.

During the month under review, the Eagles lost a game but also won four and the accumulation of points from a specific period was considered.

As explained on the FIFA website:

A team’s total number of points over a four-year period is determined by adding:

The average number of points gained from matches during the past 12 months; and
The average number of points gained from matches older than 12 months (depreciates yearly).

Tunisia are now Africa’s highest ranked team with Senegal, Congo DR, Morocco, Egypt and Cameroon lining up behind the Carthage Eagles.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s world cup opponents, Croatia are ranked 15th, Iceland moved to 20th and Argentina stay in the top four.

The next Men’s world ranking will be published on 15 March.