FIFA have have released the official update of their world ranking after the recent international break got concluded, with Bafana Bafana climbing six spots into 48th overall.
It’s Bafana’s highest ranking since August 2011, when they were in 47th spot in the world ranking.
Following the 2-1 win over Guinea, the 5-0 against Eritrea and the 1-0 in Egypt, Pitso Mosimane’s men are reaping the rewards of recent results as well as the good work done by Hugo Broos.
Before the group-stage defeat to Egypt at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Bafana had been unbeaten (excluding penalties) in 26 consecutive games. They then hit a little rough spell, with Cameroon knocking them out of the tournament in the Round of 16.
Five of Broos’ 12 defeats in five years in charge came in his last 10 games, with Bafana losing a pre-World Cup friendly to Panama, as well as the opening fixture to Mexico and the Round of 32 clash with Canada.
However, qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup was a historic achievement, with Broos opting to leave on a high and Mosimane taking over a talented generation, who could achieve even greater heights.
Meanwhile, Morocco have stayed the highest-ranked African team in seventh overall, followed by Senegal and Egypt in 18th and 25th, respectively.
Algeria (28) and Ivocry Coast (29) round out Africa’s top five nations, with Nigeria (30), DR Congo (40), Cameroon (42) and Mali (47) also appearing ahead of Bafana.
Africa’s top 10 in the latest official FIFA world ranking:
- Morocco (7th overall)
- Senegal (18th)
- Egypt (25)
- Algeria (28th)
- Ivory Coast (29th)
- Nigeria (30th)
- Congo DR (40th
- Cameroon (42nd)
- Mali (47th)
- South Africa (48th)
Meanwhile, world champions Spain have stayed at the top ahead of Argentina and France. England appear in fourth, with the top four unchanged, while Portugal climbed two spots into fifth after Jorge Jesus started with four wins despite the controversy around superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Brazil and Morocco dropped one spot each, while Belgium, Netherlands and Mexico complete the top 10.