Cameroon have moved up nine places to 62nd in the world after winning the Africa Cup of Nations, while Algeria have climbed only one position despite reaching the semi-finals and qualifying for the 2027 World Cup.

The Indomitable Lionesses beat Malawi 3-0 in the final to become African champions and the continent’s third-highest ranked side, behind Nigeria and South Africa. Their rise also takes them above Morocco, who remain among Africa’s leading teams.

Morocco finished fourth at the tournament on home soil after losing to Cameroon in the semi-finals before being beaten by Algeria on penalties in the match for third place.

The Atlas Lionesses remain 64th in the world and fourth in Africa. Although they lost points in the latest update, they did not drop in the global standings.

Nigeria continue to lead the African rankings but fell seven places to 43rd in the world. The Super Falcons lost 83.54 points, the largest points decline in this edition of the rankings.

South Africa remain second in Africa despite slipping two places to 59th globally. Ghana are fifth on the continent and 65th in the world, followed by Zambia in 70th, Cote d’Ivoire in 72nd and Algeria.

Algeria’s historic campaign brought them their first continental semi-final and secured their place at the 2027 World Cup, but the Desert Warriors moved up only one place to 73rd in the world. They are now eighth in Africa.

Their position is notable because they gained more than 27 points compared with the previous ranking. However, the increase translated into only a limited rise in places because several teams are separated by small margins and the FIFA ranking system takes multiple factors into account.

Algeria played 10 matches during the period covered by the update, the same number as Morocco. That makes the two nations the most active teams in the latest ranking.

The biggest movement came from Malawi. The Scorchers, who finished as Africa Cup of Nations runners-up and qualified for the 2027 World Cup, climbed 49 places to 104th in the world.

That is the largest rise recorded by any team in a single edition of the rankings. Malawi also gained 158.44 points, the biggest increase ever registered in one update.

The latest FIFA list reflects several of the tournament’s main consequences: Cameroon have returned to the top three in Africa, Malawi have made a major advance and Algeria are closing the gap on the continent’s leading teams, although their progress has produced only a modest ranking improvement.