Super Eagles moved up in the latest rankings released by the football governing body, but that was not the case for Bafana Bafana and Black Stars
Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, and Ghana suffered contrasting fortunes according to the February rankings released by the Federation of International Football Association on Thursday.
The ratings for the month under review were strongly impacted by the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations staged in Cameroon.
Despite winning all their group matches, three-time African kings Super Eagles crashed out in the Round of 16 after a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia.
Even at that, they climbed to third on the continent and occupy the 32nd spot globally after amassing 1509 points.
The Black Stars – who failed in their bid to land a fifth Afcon crown after crashing out in the group stage – dropped to 11th place in Africa and 61st in the world.
Bafana Bafana missed out on the biennial African football showpiece, yet they still retain their 13th place in Africa and no. 68 in the world.
Another Afcon absentee Kenya moved southward to be ranked as the 23rd best football-playing nation in Africa and no. 103 globally.
Reigning African champions Senegal are ranked first in Africa and 18th in the world with 1587 points, while Morocco's Atlas Lions – who crashed out in the quarter-final – remain 28th globally and second in Africa after accruing 1547 points.
Afcon 2021 hosts Cameroon are 38th in the world, while reigning African champions and Fifa Arab Cup kings Algeria are now ranked 43rd globally and seventh on the continent.
Seven-time African champions Egypt finished second after losing to the Lions of Teranga on penalties. They soared to the fourth spot in Africa and are rated number 34 in the world.
Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso are some of the countries that benefitted from the recently completed championship as they are ranked eighth, ninth and tenth respectively on the continent.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest move of February was by Gambia (125, + 25), the Scorpions climbed 25 places courtesy of their run to the last eight at Afcon.
