Football Nigeria - Eagles remained rooted on the 43rd position in the year ending of the FIFA world rankings. Cote'd Ivoire unmoved from its previous 16 position remained the top team in Africa, with Ghana, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Senegal making the top five in the continent. Nigeria and Egypt are the out of the 2012 Nations Cup.

Spain was again named Team of the Year after finishing at the top of the world rankings for the fourth straight year. The world and European champions have now been top for all but eight months since winning the European Championship in 2008.

There was no movement among the leading 19 teams after a month in which only six competitive internationals were played, all involving lower-ranked teams.

The Netherlands remained second, ahead of Germany, Uruguay and England. Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Argentina round out the top 10.

Vanguard/22/12/2011