Bafana move into Africa’s top 10 after stellar Nations Cup performance

Bafana Bafana have moved up two places in the African rankings to 10th position after their performance at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast.

Bafana, who finished third behind new champions Ivory Coast and runners-up Nigeria in the Afcon concluded at the weekend, moved up eight places in the world rankings.

South Africa have not been among the top-ranked teams on the continent for more than a decade as they have struggled to qualify for the Nations Cup and Fifa World Cup. But Bafana's stellar Afcon campaign under coach Hugo Broos has seen the team moving to 58th position in the Fifa rankings from the 66th slot they occupied going into the tournament.

Ivory Coast moved up 10 places in the latest Fifa rankings to 38th, and are placed fifth in Caf Africa behind first-placed Morocco, followed by Senegal, Nigeria and Egypt. 

South Africa is the only country that moved into Africa's top 10, taking the position of Ghana, who are now placed 14th after their disastrous showing in Ivory Coast where they bombed out in the first round.

Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde occupy the three African places (11th, 12th and 13th) behind Bafana in the rankings released by Fifa on Thursday.

World champions Argentina remain in top spot in the Fifa rankings, followed by France, England, Belgium and Brazil in the top five. 

Moving to the top 10 can be beneficial for Bafana as the Confederation of African Football (Caf) conducts the draw this year for the 2025 Afcon, which will be hosted by Morocco, on dates yet to be confirmed. 

According to the Caf calendar the 2025 Afcon qualifiers will start in September. 

Bafana captain Ronwen Williams and midfielder Teboho Mokoena were named in the Team of the Tournament for the Nations Cup. Williams won Best Goalkeeper.

South Africa face Andorra and Algeria next in two friendly matches in Algeria. Bafana will meet Andorra on March 21 in Annaba before taking on Algeria at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki on March 26. 

Bafana's next official match will be away to Nigeria, the team that knocked them out in the Afcon semifinals, in their third 2026 Fifa World Cup group stage qualifier on June 13.