Bafana remain highest-ranked side in COSAFA region after latest Fifa rankings

South Africa remain unchanged at number 72 in the latest FIFA World Rankings released on Thursday‚ but will have the opportunity in the coming weeks to climb the table.

Bafana Bafana stay 15th on the African continent with little movement around them‚ but the upcoming Cosafa Cup tournament in the Limpopo province is an opportunity to score points.

Stuart Baxter’s side will play a minimum of two games and potentially three in the week‚ starting with a quarterfinal on June 2 against the winner of Group A that includes Madagascar‚ Mozambique‚ Comoros and Seychelles.

Bafana remain the highest-ranked side in the Cosafa region‚ with Zambia next on the list at number 78 in the global rankings.

They will meet a strong Zimbabwe side in the semifinals if both teams make it past the first hurdle.

Among Africa’s World Cup-bound sides‚ Tunisia remain number one on the continent (and 14 in the world)‚ followed by Senegal (28).

Morocco (42) are fourth on the African list‚ followed by Egypt (46) and Nigeria (47).

There will be one more update to the rankings before the start of the World Cup‚ but at this stage champions Germany head to the tournament as the top-ranked side on the planet.

They are followed by Brazil‚ Belgium‚ Portugal and Argentina‚ with Switzerland‚ France‚ Spain‚ Chile and Poland rounding out the top 10.