By Adedapo Adesanya
The Super Falcons of Nigeria may have crashed out in the second round of the recently concluded 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the latest rankings showed that they climbed eight spots to number 32 in the world.
In the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking released on Friday, the bronze medallists at the tournament, Sweden, sat atop the list for the first time in their history.
Meanwhile, Spain, which won the tournament after beating England 1 – 0, settled into second spot. La Roja, as the team is called, could have even clinched pole position had they not missed out on the 35 points at stake in their heavy 4-0 defeat to Japan in their final group-stage game.
As a result, it is Sweden who sits at the top of the pile for the first time (1st, up 2). The Scandinavians dethroned the USA (3rd, down 2), whom they squeezed past in the round of 16 before ultimately being edged out in the semis. They recovered to overcome joint hosts Australia in the match for third place. The Matildas of Australia came in 11th as they dropped from 10th.
Meanwhile, quarter-finalists Japan (8th, up 3) move in the opposite direction to reclaim their spot amongst the leading pack.
England didn’t move from the fourth spot, but other movers in the top 10 of the global standings are the Netherlands (7th, up 2) and Germany (6th, down 4), the latter having failed to progress beyond the group stage for the first time at the finals. Elsewhere, Canada (10th, down 3) also suffered the consequences of their early exit.
Tournament newcomers Morocco proved to be one of the revelations in Australia and New Zealand – where they reached the Round of 16 – and they also make waves in this ranking as the biggest climbers (58th, up 14).
Joining Nigeria and Morocco are the other two African participants in the World Cup. South Africa rose to 45th (up 9) while Zambia, 69th, rose up eight as they recorded their highest-ever position in the ranking.
Nigeria, after gathering five points (one win, two draws) in the group stage, could not go through to the quarter-finals as they lost a penalty shootout 4-2 despite having a man advantage on England in a second-round game that ended 0-0 after extra time.
Nigeria remains Africa’s highest-ranking country in the women’s category with nine titles from 12 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles, but this has not translated to international honours.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking will be published on December 15, 2023.
Dipo Olowookere