Bafana climbed from 54th to 50th, their best position since October 2011, when they were 49th. Mosimane was in charge then too, during his first spell as coach.
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Their lowest point since that 2011 high came in 2017, when they dropped to 81st, though they spent much of the following decade outside the top 60.
The rise completes a striking turnaround from just over a year ago. Around this time last year, South Africa had actually just dropped from 55th to 59th, even after beating Rwanda 3-0 to qualify for the World Cup, since ranking points reward the quality of opposition rather than results alone. Hugo Broos then began chipping away at that position, and South Africa were 60th heading into this year’s World Cup.
That tournament transformed their trajectory. A 1-0 win over South Korea sent Bafana into the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in their history and lifted them to 54th, their highest ranking under Broos.
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South Africa are now ninth in Africa, behind Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo and Cameroon.
Photo: REUTERS/Eloisa Sanchez
