Super Falcons climb to 36th in FIFA rankings, retain Africa’s top spot

Nigeria’s Super Falcons have moved up one place to 36th in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, maintaining their status as Africa’s highest-ranked team, Sport360NG reports. 

The updated rankings, released on Tuesday, reflect a slight rise from their previous 37th position in December 2025.

The improvement comes on the back of two pre-WAFCON friendly matches against Cameroon earlier this year. The Falcons suffered a narrow 1–0 defeat in February but responded strongly with a convincing 3–1 victory in the return fixture in March.

After falling short in the first encounter, the nine-time African champions delivered a more assertive performance in the second meeting. Chinwendu Ihezuo restored parity in the 32nd minute, heading home from a well-delivered cross by Rinsola Babajide.

Babajide then turned scorer just before the break, reacting quickest in the box to give Nigeria a 2–1 lead heading into half-time.

The Falcons extended their advantage in the 64th minute when Michelle Alozie powered in a header from a well-weighted delivery by captain Rasheedat Ajibade, sealing a deserved victory.

The result earned Nigeria an additional 3.35 ranking points, bringing their total to 1,602 in April, though still slightly below the 1,607 points recorded in December.

In the African standings, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco trail behind Nigeria, occupying 58th, 59th, and 62nd positions globally, respectively.

On the world stage, Spain remain at the summit of the rankings, followed by the United States, England, Germany, and Japan.