Nigeria has maintained its position in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings, staying 38th globally in the December 2025 update released on Monday.
With no competitive fixtures played since the previous rankings, the Super Eagles retained their November points total of 1,502, resulting in no movement on the global ladder.
On the African continent, Nigeria remains fifth, trailing Morocco, Senegal, Egypt and Algeria. Morocco continues to lead Africa’s rankings at 11th worldwide, while Senegal sits 19th globally. Algeria and Egypt occupy the 34th and 35th positions respectively, with Nigeria following closely at 38th.
Completing Africa’s top 10 are Tunisia (41st), Côte d’Ivoire (42nd), Mali (53rd), DR Congo (56th) and Cameroon (57th).
At the global level, Spain remain top of the rankings after reclaiming first place from Argentina in September 2025. France is ranked third, while England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Croatia complete the rest of the top 10, unchanged from the previous edition.
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The December rankings, which are the final release of the year, take into account 42 international matches, with the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 being the major competition during the period.
Morocco’s triumph at the tournament pushed them close to a historic return to the global top 10 for the first time since April 1998, as they now trail Croatia by just 0.54 points.
Elsewhere, Kosovo emerged as one of the biggest movers of 2025, climbing 19 places to 80th after recording seven wins and two draws in 10 matches. Norway (29th) and Suriname (123rd) also posted notable gains, while Jordan (64th), Vietnam (107th) and Singapore (148th) recorded the biggest rises in December.
Nigeria’s unchanged position highlights stability in the rankings but also points to the need for stronger performances as the Super Eagles continue their campaign at AFCON 2025.