The FIFA World Ranking is a ranking system for men’s national teams in association football, Africa is currently led by Tunisia and Senegal.
The football governing body, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), on the 20th of September published her latest ranking of National Teams in 2018. In the African continent, Tunisia topped the latest 2018 list of Best National Football Teams in Africa. Second on the list is Senegal, closely followed by Congo DR and the Morocco. The blackstars of Ghana and Nigerian Super Eagles were ranked 7th and 5th respectively on the list of best national football teams in Africa.
Cameroun, Mali, Burkina faso and Egypt, all graced the top ten best football teams in Africa.
The African teams on the list below, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest.
Below is the full list, as well as their outstanding individual performances
1. Tunisua – Les Aigles de
Carthage “the Eagles of Carthage” (World Rank: 23)
They have qualified for five FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978 , but are yet to make it out of the first round. Nevertheless, they created history in 1978 in Argentina by becoming the first African side to win a World Cup match, beating Mexico 3–1. They also held defending champions West Germany to a goalless draw before bowing out. They have since qualified for three tournaments in succession, in 1998, 2002 , 2006 , as well as the 2018 finals.
2. Senegal – The Lions of Teranga (World Rank: 25)
The team have been regular competitors in the Africa Cup of Nations, where their best performance was runner-up to Cameroon in the 2002 edition in Mali. In the same year, Senegal took part at the FIFA World Cup for the first time and entered the history books when they reached the quarter-finals, having defeated reigning champions France in the opening game.
The team made their second World Cup appearance 16 years later in 2018, but were eliminated in the group stage based on fair play points.
3. Congo DR – The Leopards (World Rank: 40)
DR Congo have been ranked as high as 28 in the
FIFA Rankings. As Zaire they were the first Sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup and twice won the Africa Cup of Nations .
4. Morocco, Lions of the Atlas (World Rank: 45)
Winners of the African Nations Cup in 1976 , they were the first African team to win a group at the World Cup, which they did in 1986, finishing ahead of Portugal , Poland , and England. They were also the first African team to make it to the second round, barely losing to eventual runners-up West Germany 1–0 in 1986.
5. Nigeria – Super Eagles (World Rank: 48)
The Nigeria national football team, are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their last title in 2013 , after defeating Burkina Faso in the final.
In April 1994, the Super Eagles was ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings, the highest FIFA ranking position ever achieved by an African football team.
Throughout history, the team has qualified for six of the last seven FIFA World Cups (as of 2018), missing only the 2006 World Cup hosted in Germany, and have reached the round of 16 three times.
6. Cameroon – Indomitable Lions (World Rank: 50)
The indomitable lions of cameroun has qualified seven times for the FIFA World Cup, more than any other African team (in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014), they were the only African team to appear at both the 1990 and 1994 tournaments. However, the team has only made it once out of the group stage. They were the first African team to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup, in 1990, losing to England in extra time. They have also won five Africa Cup of Nations titles.
7. Ghana – The Black Stars (World Rank: 51)
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The black stars of Ghana have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times(in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), and has been runner-up 5 times (in 1968, 1970, 1992, 2010, and 2015).
After going through 2005 unbeaten, the Ghana national football team won the FIFA Best Mover of the Year Award and reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became only the third African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, and in 2014 they competed in their third consecutive World Cup.
8. Burkinafaso – Les Etalons (World Rank: 56)
Nicknamed ‘Les Etalons’, (the Stallions) Burkina Faso highest finish in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, was in 2013 edition, where they reached the final but lost to the super eagles of Nigeria.
Theyve never qualified for the world cup tournament but still managed to make this list.
9. Mali – Les Aigles ‘the Eagles’ (World Rank: 63)
The Mali national football team, nicknamed Les Aigles (The Eagles), is the national team of Mali and is controlled by the Fédération Malienne de Football. Although they have never qualified for the World Cup finals. they still managed to squeeze themselves into the top best teams in Africa.
10. Egypt – The Pharaohs (World Rank: 64)
The Egypt national football team. known popularly as The Pharaohs, is the most successful national team in Africa, having won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times.
Egypt has also been as high as ninth in the FIFA World Rankings, making the team one of only three African national teams to enter the world’s top ten. Despite their respectable continental record, Egypt has so far made only three appearances in the World Cup
