Bafana Bafana Drop in Latest FIFA Rankings Despite Qualifying for 2026 World Cup
- South Africa have slipped up in the recent rankings of national teams released by the football governing body, FIFA, on Friday
- Bafana Bafana's qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup didn't help their case in the latest rankings
- The South Africa national team are still unbeaten under Hugo Broos, but they have yet to break into the top five nations in Africa
The Bafana Bafana of South Africa have dropped in the latest FIFA rankings released by the football governing body on Friday, October 17, 2025, despite booking a place in next year's FIFA World Cup, set to be hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.
Hugo Broos' side was on the brink of not making it to the competition after dropping points against neighbours Zimbabwe, but made up for the points dropped by beating Rwanda in the last qualifiers, while the Super Eagles of Nigeria thrashed the Benin Republic in the other top-of-the-table match.
Bafana Bafana topped Group C, one point ahead of Nigeria, securing automatic qualification for the World Cup. This is the first time South Africa has qualified for the competition since 2002, aside from making it into the tournament as the host nation in 2010.
Bafana Bafana slip in latest FIFA rankings
In the previous rankings, South Africa were ranked as the 55th best team in the world. However, in the latest one released this October, Bafana Bafana dropped four places to 59th, ahead of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso.
Despite slipping up in the World rankings, South Africa still maintains their place as the 10th best team in Africa. The reason for Bafana Bafana's recent drop in FIFA rankings could be attributed to the change of the Lesotho result from a 2-0 victory to a 3-0 loss earlier in the qualifying phase after they were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player by FIFA.
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Morocco still holds their place as the number one-ranked team in Africa and is 12th in the world. Senegal follows them closely in second place in Africa w,ile they are 18th in the world.
South Africa's group-stage opponent at the AFCON 2025, Egypt, is ranked third in Africa and 32nd in the world. The Pharaohs are followed by their North African brothers, Algeria, who are ranked 35th in the world.
Nigeria has moved up in the latest ranking after dropping to sixth in Africa in the last ranking, but is now back in the top five in Africa, with the Ivory Coast relegated back to sixth. Tunisia is seventh, Mali is eighth despite missing out on World Cup qualification, and Cameroon is ranked 9th in Africa.
Bafana Bafana completes the top 10 teams in Africa and will wait until the next international break in November to improve their rankings.
Jordaan speaks on Bafana's point deduction
Briefly News earlier reported that SAFA president Danny Jordaan commented on Bafana Bafana's points deduction during the World Cup qualifiers.
There have been calls from the public that those involved in the issue should be sanctioned by SAFA.
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Source: Briefly News
