Falcons drop seven places to 43rd in FIFA Women’s ranking
By Tosin Omojola
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have dropped seven places to 43rd in the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking released on Tuesday, October 20, following a disappointing campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The 10-time African champions, who were ranked 36th globally in FIFA’s previous update in June, entered the continental tournament as Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national team.
However, their disappointing performance in Morocco, where they failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their WAFCON history, has compounded the setback. Nigeria began the tournament with a 3-2 defeat to Malawi but recovered with a 1-0 victory over Zambia and a convincing 6-2 win against Egypt to advance from the group stage.
Their campaign ended in disappointment with a 1-0 quarter-final loss to Cameroon, denying them the opportunity to compete for the continental title. The Falcons subsequently suffered another setback against South Africa in the classification stage, further undermining their tournament ambitions.
Their struggles continued in the race for a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, as Nigeria lost 2-1 to South Africa in the playoff for qualification to the global competition.
The defeat heightened concerns over the team’s prospects, with Nigeria facing the possibility of missing the Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history. Despite their decline in the global standings, the Falcons remain Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national team, according to the ranking positions provided in the report.
South Africa dropped two places to 59th globally, while Cameroon climbed nine places to 62nd following their performance at WAFCON.
Morocco occupy 64th position, while Ghana and Zambia are ranked 65th and 70th, respectively, after each dropped five places.
Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Senegal and Mali complete the reported top 10 teams in Africa, reflecting the growing competition in women’s football across the continent.Globally, Spain lead the women’s rankings, ahead of the United States, Germany, England and Japan. France, Brazil, Sweden, Canada and Denmark complete the top 10.
