Taiwo Adelu

Nigeria’s Super Eagles  begin  2016 still as world’s 66th, as FIFA’s latest ranking of nations  remains what it was in December last year.

In the latest ranking released by FIFA early on Thursday, Nigeria  also remain static on the African continent, still on number 14th.

The Elephants of Ivory Coast are still the number one team in Africa and 19th in the world  followed by Algeria (28), Ghana (33), Cape Verde Island (39), Tunisia (40), Senegal (45), Congo (48), Guinea (49), Cameroon (57) and Egypt (58) in the Top 10 on Africa continent.
Nigeria’s Eagle are behind the likes of Condo DR (60), Uganda (62) and Mali (63) in the 11th, 12th and 13th position in Africa.

Belgium ended 2015 on a high note and they have begun 2016 in the same fashion. The Red Devils remain top of the table in the first FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of 2016, while Argentina and Spain have also held onto their respective second and third positions.

Fifa,com reports that With the majority of the top teams enjoying a well-deserved break in the final weeks of 2015, the situation in the top 50 remains largely unchanged in the latest ranking.

That said, three teams enjoyed a subtle but successful climb  in the New Year. Sweden have moved up one position into 34th place, Iran have climbed two places into 43rd and Guinea have gained one position in 49th. Meanwhile, Uganda (62nd, up 1) and Kyrgyzstan (107th, up 1) have kicked off 2016 by reaching their best-ever positions in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

Other small but significant improvements have been enjoyed by Zambia (67th, up 6), Rwanda (91st, up 10), Thailand (121st, up 12), Tanzania (126th, up 6) and Sri Lanka (188th, up 6). All of the aforementioned teams have improved their positions by more than five places in the latest ranking.

The confederation leaders for the first ranking of 2016 mirror those of December’s ranking. Belgium, Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Iran and New Zealand hold onto continental bragging rights for the time being. 15 games from December 2015 and one “A” match from 2016 have been evaluated for the latest edition.