Bafana Bafana officially climb to 48th in FIFA rankings

South Africa’s rise into the FIFA top 50 has been officially confirmed, with Bafana Bafana moving six places to 48th in the latest rankings.

The updated position follows three victories during the recent FIFA international window. Bafana Bafana began their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign with wins over Guinea and Eritrea before finishing the period with a 1-0 victory against Egypt in an international friendly on Sunday.

Those results lifted South Africa from 54th to 48th in the provisional standings, which had been displayed as a live ranking throughout the international break. FIFA approved the final rankings after all national-team matches had been completed.

Bafana Bafana retained 48th place with 1468,88 points. It is the national team’s highest FIFA ranking since October 2011.

South Africa benefited from Venezuela’s draw with Jordan on Tuesday. The result meant Venezuela lost ranking points rather than adding to its total, helping Bafana Bafana hold their improved position.

The confirmed ranking also guarantees South Africa a place among Africa’s top 10 teams. Morocco remain the continent’s highest-ranked side in seventh position, followed by Senegal in 18th and Egypt in 25th.

Algeria are 28th, while Cote d’Ivoire occupy 29th place. Nigeria are ranked 30th, with Congo DR in 40th, Cameroon in 42nd and Mali in 47th.

South Africa therefore sit immediately behind Mali in the global standings and one place above the next-ranked African team.