Mosimane backs tougher fixtures to lift Bafana Bafana up FIFA rankings

Pitso Mosimane says Bafana Bafana will continue to seek high-quality opposition as part of a strategy designed to improve their FIFA ranking.

During the latest international window, which ran from last month into the first week of this month, South Africa faced Guinea and Eritrea in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers before completing their schedule against Egypt.

Egypt were ranked third in Africa and 25th in the world at the time. The fixture helped Bafana Bafana move into the top 48 of the global rankings, and Mosimane believes selecting stronger opponents can continue to bring benefits.

“Yes, it’s humbling. Of course, we have to acknowledge the team where I found it, to be honest. Okay, the bit we contributed adds to that because if you win against Egypt, you win more points. If you beat Guinea, you get more points than Eritrea, so yes, we are working towards that,” said Mosimane.

He said friendly matches should be arranged with a clear purpose rather than simply to fill dates on the international calendar.

“The most important thing is to play strategically. Friendlies must be strategic, and sometimes, well, I tried to do that before, and you know what happened to me,” he said.

“That’s the challenge; I am that coach who falls on his sword to say, look, we could’ve played anybody we wanted, but we played Egypt, and we got more points, right? Now we are 48th. Imagine if we didn’t play Egypt and played somebody ranked even below us, and we didn’t even win. You’re gambling with the points.”

Bafana Bafana are currently ranked 10th in Africa. Based on the existing tournament pots, they are expected to be placed in Pot 3 for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations draw in the PAMOJA region, meaning they are unlikely to avoid most of the continent’s leading teams.

Mosimane’s argument is that further progress in the rankings could alter that position. If South Africa reach the top eight, or at least move into the top seven or six, their seeding prospects would improve, strengthening the case for carefully choosing international opponents.

The latest window was also different from the usual FIFA international calendar. It lasted 16 days rather than 14, allowing teams to play as many as four matches instead of two.

South Africa chose to play three: the two competitive qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea, followed by the friendly against Egypt.

That decision also came with the MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns scheduled for the following weekend. Mosimane explained that the match against a full-strength Egypt side, ranked fifth in Africa, was a factor in the choice to limit Bafana Bafana to three games.