FIFA has released its January 2026 World Rankings, with African nations seeing notable movements following the conclusion of the AFCON 2025 tournament held in Morocco.
Softfootball gathered, the host nation Morocco remain Africa’s highest-ranked team, sitting 8th globally with 1736.57 points, a gain of +20.23 points from their previous tally. Despite losing the AFCON final to Senegal, the Atlas Lions’ overall results ensured they retained a place in the global top 10.
AFCON champions Senegal recorded one of the biggest jumps among elite African teams, climbing to 12th in the world with 1706.83 points, a massive +58.76 increase. Their title-winning run, combined with consistent results, firmly established the Teranga Lions as one of the strongest teams in world football.
Nigeria were among the tournament’s biggest movers. The Super Eagles surged to 26th globally, gaining +79.09 points to reach 1581.55, after winning six of seven matches and finishing third at AFCON 2025.
Other notable African rankings include:
- Algeria – 28th (+43.23)
- Egypt – 31st (+41.53)
- Côte d’Ivoire – 37th (+32.89)
- Cameroon – 45th (+41.96)
- Tunisia – 47th (−15.82)
- DR Congo – 48th (+24.06)
Further down the rankings, teams like Mali (54th), South Africa (60th) and Burkina Faso (62nd) also made modest gains, while others such as Gabon, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea experienced significant drops following poor AFCON outings.
The updated rankings underline the impact of AFCON 2025 on African football’s global standing, with Senegal’s triumph, Morocco’s consistency and Nigeria’s resurgence standing out as the tournament’s biggest success stories.
