Two draws – one 4-4 and the other 0-0 – ensured the Super Eagles dropped down the FIFA ranking board from 32nd to the 35th-ranked football team in the world. The Nigerian team though maintained its fourth place in Africa, four places below Algeria.
In the first of two Nations Cup qualifiers against the Leone Stars on November 13, The Eagles led 4-0 after 29 minutes but allowed themselves to be pegged back to 4-4 by full time. On account of the two points garnered against their better-ranked Nigerians, the John Keister-managed side rose four places – from 120 to 116.
Before that, the Eagles had lost to Algeria and drawn with Tunisia in two friendly matches in October. After the insipid display against the Sierra Leoneans, the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, called for a restructuring of the team while many Nigerians asked that the coach, Gernot Rohr, be sacked.
The Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick, has however backed the coach, saying he is on course to meet all the targets the federation set for him. Nigeria’s next matches are scheduled for March 2021.