Bafana Bafana set to climb above Czechia with Eritrea win

Bafana Bafana are guaranteed another rise in the FIFA rankings if they beat Eritrea in Cairo on Wednesday, with a victory enough to move South Africa into 49th place.

The match, which kicks off at 18:00 South Africa time, will be played at Al-Salam Stadium, where Eritrea are hosting their home fixture.

South Africa moved into the top 50 for the first time in 15 years after beating Guinea on Saturday. They were last in that group in October 2011, when they reached 49th under coach Pitso Mosimane.

That position is now within reach again, as Bafana close in on Czechia in the provisional rankings.

Czechia currently occupy 49th place on 1460.93 points, while South Africa are 54th on 1460.12. The provisional standings will become official at the end of the current FIFA window.

Czechia’s recent results have opened the door for Bafana. They are without a win in their past five matches and have already lost 6.33 ranking points following defeats by Croatia and England during this international window.

They face two further challenging away fixtures in the UEFA Nations League, travelling to play Spain on Saturday before meeting England again on Tuesday.

Based on their current form, Czechia are expected to lose both matches. Further defeats would result in an additional drop in ranking points and could allow South Africa to move above them.

A win against Eritrea, who are ranked 184th in the world, would bring only a small points increase. However, it should still be sufficient to lift Bafana above Czechia and put them within closer reach of Venezuela and Mali.

Venezuela are 48th with 1466.08 points, while Mali occupy 47th place on 1471.29.

There is little immediate danger of South Africa being overtaken from below. Peru, ranked 51st, are not expected to earn enough ranking points to move past the team coached by Mosimane.

Bafana began the current FIFA window in 54th place and can strengthen their position with victory over Eritrea.

Their next fixture will be an international friendly against Egypt on Sunday.