The Super Eagles have gone down five steps on the latest FIFA rankings releasedon Thursday by the world football governing body, FIFA.
Previously ranked 37th in the world, the reigning African champions have now dropped to 42nd in the October edition of the monthly rankings.
The Eagles played two matches in the period under review, which is double header against Sudan in which they lost the first leg by a lone goal in Khartoum before rallying to a 3-1 win in Abuja in the reverse fixture.
The three-time African champions, with 632 points, are also down to the 9th position on the continent behind Algeria, Cote d’ Ivoire, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon and Senegal.
Meanwhile, there has been plenty of movement in the latest edition of the World Ranking, with 77 qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil, ensuring a number of changes compared to last month.
In the top 20, leaders, Spain, and second-placed Germany remain unchallenged at the top, with Argentina’s move into third place following wins over Uruguay (11th, down 4) and Chile (21st, down 4), edging Portugal down to fourth.
Also benefiting from two victories are Italy (5th, up 3) and Russia (9th, up 3), the latter moving into the top 10 for the first time since October 2010.
Brazil, who are hosting the 2014 world finals and thus have no potential points-earning qualifiers, managed to stay 13th, thanks to two runaway wins in friendlies against Iraq (97th, down 17) and Japan (24th, down 1).