After an amazing performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), Bafana Bafana have reaped the benefits and climbed up the Fifa rankings by eight places.
South Africa jumped from number 66 to number 58 in the world when Fifa, the body that oversees world football, updated its 2024 rankings on Thursday.
South Africa moved up to the 10th spot in the Confederation of African Football rankings, moving from position 12 to inside the top 10.
Bafana finished as the third-best team in the Afcon and walked away with a bronze medal, their first ever podium finish in 24 years.
The highest Fifa ranking
The highest Fifa ranking Bafana has seen is position 16 in the world following their 1996 Afcon triumph under the late coach Clive Barker.
The national team’s worst ever ranking was number 90 back in 2010 under coach Joel Santana’s tenure ahead of the World Cup.
Bafana has clearly improved and grown into a formidable team since Hugo Broos was appointed in May 2021.
In the 30 games across all competitions that Bafana have participated in under Broos, they have won 16, tied eight, and lost only six.
South Africa had two memorable performances prior to the Afcon, one of which came against Morocco, the 2022 Fifa World Cup semi-finalists, after South Africa had defeated them 2-1 in their Afcon qualifying and won Group K.
Then, in their round-of-16 match, Bafana crushed the north African heavyweights 2-0 to send them out of the competition.
Top team in Africa
The Moroccans, however, managed to hold onto their top spot in Africa and rose one spot to 12 in the world rankings in spite of the upset.
Ivory Coast rose to number 39 in the world rankings, 10 places higher than before, after winning the Afcon title at home.
Nigeria, which lost to Ivory Coast in the final, went from 42 to 28 places, an astounding 12 spots.
After a dismal performance at the Afcon, countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria have all fallen.
