The Super Eagles have dropped two places to 46th on FIFA Coca Cola World Rankings released on Thursday.
The Nigerians, however, retained their 4th position on the continent with Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco occupying the first three positions in that order.
The first ranking of the year also saw Asian champions, Qatar, climb to 55th in the world, gaining 38 places and reaching their best position since 1993.
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FIFA, in a statement, said the Asian Cup was responsible for the notable changes in the rankings, with the scarcity of games in other confederations leaving the top 20 unchanged, and Belgium still at 1st position.
Further down the table, Qatar is not the only team to have ascended in spectacular style.
Fellow finalists, Japan (27th, up 23) have also soared up the order, while Korea Republic (38th, up 15), United Arab Emirates (67th, up 12) and Jordan (97th, up 12), all registered double-digit gains.
Another consequence of these changes is that Asia has boosted its numbers in the Ranking’s top 50.
The Asian Football Confederation is now represented by four teams up, one on the last edition, and now stands level with Africa, whose numbers have been depleted by Congo DR (51st, down 2), dropping out.