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Nigeria’s Super Falcons Rise to 36th in Latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings

"Despite not featuring in one of the international windows under review, the Nigerian team still managed to improve their standing. They had slipped to 37th in the December 2025 rankings"

Samuel AkpanApril 21, 20262 Mins read97

The Super Falcons of Nigeria have moved up one place to 36th position in the latest FIFA women’s global rankings released on Tuesday.

Despite not featuring in one of the international windows under review, the Nigerian team still managed to improve their standing.

They had slipped to 37th in the December 2025 rankings.

In March, Nigeria played only a double-header friendly series against Cameroon.

They lost the first leg but bounced back strongly to defeat the Indomitable Lionesses in the second encounter.

The team did not participate in the subsequent women’s international break scheduled for mid-April.

Nigeria continues to dominate the African continent as the top-ranked team, maintaining a comfortable gap of more than 20 places ahead of South Africa, who sit in 58th position globally.

Ghana, Morocco, and Zambia follow in that order to round up the top five women’s teams in Africa.

On the global stage, Spain retained their number one spot, with the United States staying in second place.

England overtook Germany to claim third position, while Japan climbed past Sweden, France, and Brazil to secure fifth place.

The next FIFA women’s world rankings update is scheduled for release on June 16.

Persecondnews recalls that in early April, Asisat Ajibade had sounded the alarm on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over Nigeria’s Super Falcons, level of readiness for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the crucial battle for FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification.

The prolific forward, a cornerstone of the nine-time African champions, voiced deep frustration at what she sees as a worrying lack of urgency and intensity in the squad’s build-up.

“We are not just preparing for the Women’s African Cup of Nations, we are also fighting for World Cup qualification… so why are we not preparing with the seriousness and intensity this demands… abeg wetin be all this one, for how long?” she said.

Ajibade, who has repeatedly delivered for the Super Falcons on the big stage, made it clear the team cannot afford to treat these dual objectives lightly.

“Abeg wetin be all this one, for how long?” she repeated, underscoring her growing impatience with the current pace of preparations.

The Super Falcons, one of Africa’s most decorated women’s sides, are scheduled to open their pre-tournament programme with a double-header friendly against Cape Verde later this month.

Yet Ajibade’s pointed remarks have already ignited heated debate about the team’s overall readiness and the direction of their approach to the high-stakes fixtures ahead.

With continental supremacy and a ticket to the global showpiece both on the line, all eyes are now on the technical crew and football authorities to respond swiftly to the mounting concerns rising from within the squad.