NIGERIA moved nine steps up in the latest FIFA ranking despite the Super Eagles’ absence from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
However, on the African continent, the country remain in the seventh position they occupied last month.
According to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World ranking released on Thursday, Nigeria are now 41st, up from the 50th position they occupied in January.
The world football-governing body based the latest rankings on 60 matches, 32 of which were played at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria missed out on the 2017 Africa Nations Cup competition, won last Sunday by Cameroon.
The central Africans were rewarded for the efforts moving 29 places to the 33rd position. For the month of February, theirs was the biggest move by points (244).
Runners-up at the Gabon Nations Cup Egypt moved steps up to the 23rd position. They are also the highest ranked CAF team.
Semi-finalists at the biennial competition, Burkina Faso moved 15 steps to the 38th position, while Ghana, also semi-finalists in Gabon, moved nine steps to the 45th position.
Quarter-finalists Congo DR moved to the 37th position from the 49th; Morocco, from the 57th, moved to the 48th position, while hosts Gabon, moved 21 steps up to the 87th position.
There are no movements among the first top five countries in the world as Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Chile, and Belgium retained their positions.
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