Super Falcons Drop Seven Places to 43rd in FIFA Women's World Rankings

• Nigeria's Super Falcons have fallen seven places to 43rd in the latest FIFA Women's World Rankings, released on Tuesday, October 20, 2026
• They suffered the biggest points loss of any nation in the world in this update.

The 10-time African champions dropped from 36th in the previous edition, published in June, to 43rd, with their points tally falling to 1,518.02 after shedding 83.54 points. No team on the planet lost more ground.

Yet despite the slide, the Falcons remain Africa's highest-ranked women's national team; a position they have held for years, and one that underlines both their historic dominance and the scale of the rebuilding job now facing them.

Why the Drop? A WAFCON to Forget

The rankings do not lie, and neither did the results. The Falcons' fall traces directly to a disastrous campaign at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

For the first time in their history, Nigeria failed to reach the semi-finals of the continental championship, exiting at the quarter-final stage after defeats to Malawi and eventual champions Cameroon.

Worse was to come. In the play-off for a place at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Falcons lost 2-1 to South Africa; a result that ended one of the most remarkable streaks in world football. Nigeria had appeared at every Women's World Cup since the tournament began in 1991. That unbroken run is now over: the Super Falcons will not be in Brazil in 2027.

There was some relief in the Olympic qualifying campaign, where Nigeria recorded back-to-back victories over Comoros (2-0 away, 5-0 at home, 7-0 on aggregate) to reach the third round of qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. But those wins were not enough to offset the damage done at WAFCON.

Still Queens of Africa

The Falcons' cushion at the top of the African rankings remains healthy as they sit 16 places and roughly 90 points clear of second-placed South Africa. But the gap is closing, and the continent is moving:

Cameroon, the new African champions, climbed nine places to 62nd. The story of the update, however, belongs to Malawi: the Scorchers recorded the biggest rise in world football, surging 49 places to 104th after gaining 158.44 points; the largest points increase of any nation, following their fairytale run to the WAFCON final and qualification for the 2027 World Cup.

The Global Picture

At the top of the world rankings, there was no change. Spain retained first place, ahead of the United States, Germany, England and Japan. France, Brazil, Sweden and Canada occupy sixth to ninth, while Denmark climbed two places to 10th, returning to the top 10 for the first time since August 2010.

The update was calculated following 183 international matches played during the period.

What It Means — and the Road Back

Rankings are a symptom, not the disease. The real story is that African women's football is no longer a one-team continent. Cameroon are champions. Malawi are World Cup-bound. Morocco keep investing. Nigeria's historic dominance: 10 WAFCON titles, more than any nation, can no longer be taken for granted.

The road back starts with the Olympic qualifiers: a third-round tie against Morocco in March 2027 now carries enormous weight. Win it, and the Falcons keep a major tournament in their calendar and begin restoring ranking points. The next FIFA Women's World Ranking is scheduled for December 7, 2026, and Nigeria will want positive results in the intervening windows to stop the slide.

For now, the Falcons are still Africa's number one. But for the first time in a generation, the crown feels contested.