Despite the euphoria of securing a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Bafana Bafana have experienced a perplexing drop in the latest FIFA World Rankings.
The South African national team surprisingly slipped four places in the rankings released on Friday, falling from 55th to 59th in the world.
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The Paradoxical Drop
Bafana Bafana’s recent on-field performance was strong, culminating in qualification for the global showpiece in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. They clinched the top spot in Group C with 18 points—one point ahead of Nigeria—after a dramatic final phase of qualifiers.
The final results factored into the latest rankings included a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and a convincing 3-0 victory over Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday. This win secured their first World Cup qualification since 2002.
However, these positive results were seemingly offset by a complex factor related to an earlier match. The drop is largely attributed to the retroactive deduction of World Cup qualifying points and the reversal of the result against Lesotho.
FIFA changed what was originally a 2-0 victory for South Africa into a 3-0 loss due to the fielding of an ineligible player. This severe disciplinary action significantly impacted Bafana Bafana’s accumulated rating points in the FIFA calculation model.
Continental and Global Context
The team currently sits just below the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burkina Faso in the global standings. On the continental level, Bafana Bafana also dropped one spot to 10th place in the CAF rankings. Morocco remains the top-ranked African nation, followed closely by Senegal in second place.
In the global elite, there was a significant change at the summit, as Spain, the 2010 World Cup champions, returned to the number one spot, displacing the reigning world champions, Argentina.
Historically, Bafana Bafana’s average ranking has hovered around 55th, indicating that the current position is slightly below their historical norm.
The next FIFA World Rankings update is scheduled for November 21, 2025. Recognizing the importance of improving their ranking ahead of the World Cup draw in December, the South African Football Association (SAFA) is reportedly working to arrange international friendly matches for the national team next month.
These friendlies will be crucial opportunities to accumulate points and potentially boost their standing before the final World Cup preparations begin.