Morocco’s national women’s football team has maintained its 60th position in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, released on Thursday, while also holding firm as the third-highest ranked side in Africa.
The Atlas Lionesses’ standing comes after mixed results in their most recent international friendlies — a 1-0 loss to Cameroon followed by a 3-1 victory over Tunisia.
These results leave Morocco with 1,419.63 ranking points, marking a slight drop of 8.09 points from the previous update.
Despite this marginal decline, Morocco remain third in the African continental rankings, trailing only Nigeria and South Africa.
Nigeria continue to lead the continent with 1,623.29 points, followed by South Africa with 1,488.49. Cameroon (1,396.20 points) and Zambia (1,395.35 points) round out the African top five, just behind Morocco.
Elsewhere on the continent, Egypt recorded the most notable rise in this edition of the rankings. The Pharaohs climbed seven places to reach 93rd in the world — the biggest leap by any African team in this update.
Globally, the United States continue to lead the women’s rankings, although their position at the top has become less secure.
The Americans suffered a rare home defeat in April, losing 2-1 to Brazil, who have now surged to fourth place in the standings — their highest ranking since December 2013.
Spain, currently ranked second, and Germany, in third, have narrowed the gap significantly on the United States after going unbeaten in recent fixtures.
The top five is rounded out by England, who dropped one place to fifth, just ahead of Sweden in sixth.
Japan and Canada have both slipped in the rankings following defeats to South American opposition. Japan fell two places to seventh after losses to Brazil and Argentina, while Canada now sit eighth after also being beaten by Brazil.
These setbacks reflect the growing strength of South American women’s football, with Brazil’s rise emblematic of the region’s upward momentum.
Colombia also made headlines in this edition of the rankings by breaking into the top 20 for the first time.
The South American side climbed three spots to 18th following a narrow 1-0 win over the Republic of Korea. Their success is part of a wider trend that saw several South American and Central American teams achieve historic milestones.
Paraguay reached a new high of 45th, while Venezuela rose three places to 48th after a surprise 3-1 win over New Zealand. In Central America, Haiti climbed to a record 50th place, with Puerto Rico also setting a new benchmark by reaching 79th.
Outside the Americas, Saudi Arabia moved up one place to 165th — their highest position since joining the rankings — while European minnows Luxembourg and Asian side Bangladesh made the biggest jumps in terms of places gained, climbing six and five spots respectively.
For Morocco, the focus now turns to the upcoming Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in July, where they will hope to improve both their continental performance and global ranking with strong results on home soil in Morocco.
