Nigeria, England climb rankings

Nigeria’s Afcon victory in South Africa and England’s win over Brazil have helped both sides climb the FIFA world rankings.

Nigeria’s Afcon victory in South Africa and England’s win over Brazil have helped both sides climb the FIFA world rankings.

Nigeria’s third Africa Cup of Nations victory has seen the Super Eagles jump 22 places from 52nd to 30th place – their highest ranking since August 2010.

England, meanwhile, have moved up from sixth spot to fourth following their impressive 2-1 friendly win over Brazil at Wembley last week, leapfrogging Italy, who are now fifth.

Roy Hodgon’s side were victorious thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, and Brazil’s defeat means they remain in a lowly 18th place.

Other significant changes see beaten Afcon finalists Burkina Faso shoot up 37 places to 55th in the world, while hosts South Africa have jumped 25 places.

Despite the Ivory Coast’s disappointing showing at the tournament where they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage, they have moved up to 12th place, the highest ranking in the country’s history.

The top three teams in the rankings remain unchanged, with Spain first, followed by Germany and Argentina.