Nigeria climbed one place to 38th position in Fifa’s latest women’s world rankings as mixed fortunes hit a host of the continent’s heavyweights.
Thomas Dennerby’s team dropped one place to 39th in December despite winning the African Women’s Cup of Nations in Ghana.
However, an encouraging record of three wins in six international friendlies in 2019 lifted them to 38th and remain top of the log in Africa.
The top four teams in Africa stay unchanged with 2019 Women’s World Cup campaigners Cameroon, South Africa and Ghana occupying the second, third and fourth positions respectively.
Cameroon remained motionless, occupying the same 46th spot with no top friendly in 2019, while South Africa dropped one place to 49th after failing to secure a win in six games since January.
On the global scene, world champions USA and Germany retained the top two spots, while England climbed to third following their SheBelieves Cup triumph as World Cup hosts, France dropped to fourth in the world.
With the next ranking set for July 12, African representatives Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa will be hoping to excel at the global women’s football showpiece which kicks off in June in France.
Fifa Rankings: Top 10 in Africa
1. Nigeria
2. Cameroon
3. South Africa
4. Ghana
5. Cote d’ivoire
6. Equatorial Guinea
7. Morocco
8. Algeria
9. Mali
10. Senegal
