Lagos – A former Super Eagles player, Friday Ekpo, says the six-point drop of the country in the latest FIFA ranking was insignificant and urged the team to remain focused in their future outings.

Eagles of Good Hope…From right,Super Eagles players Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo and Ogenyi Onazi celebrate their resounding victory over Cameroon. They will leave for Yaounde today for the second leg.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles dropped six places in the latest FIFA-Coca Cola world rankings in spite of impressive outings against Cameroon in the World Cup qualifiers.

The ranking released on Sept. 14 by FIFA revealed that the Eagles dropped from the 38th to 44th position with 695 points.

Ekpo told NAN on Friday in Lagos that the team should be consistent, adding that the ranking was just a number.

“A lot of people have always questioned FIFA monthly ranking; but as far as I am concerned, we should not be bothered about that, rather we should continue to up our game.

“The fact that we had a good outing against Cameroon in the World Cup qualifier doesn’t mean we will gain more points in the rankings.

“But that notwithstanding, the Eagles should always be consistent in delivering good performances in every match they play,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the latest ranking shows that Egypt retained its first position on the continent and 30th in the world with 815 points, followed by Tunisia with 810 points and 31st in the world.

Senegal is third on the continent and 33 in the world with 774 points, while DR Congo is 4th in Africa and 42 in the world with 709 points.

African champions, Cameroon are 6th in Africa and 45th in the world with 689 points.

In the top 10 ranked countries, Germany became the number while Brazil is second.

Portugal is third, Argentina fourth, Belgium fifth and Poland sixth. (NAN)
KOA/KOO/PDE