Bafana drops in FIFA rankings again

Eliot Mahlase

The South African national football team has dropped 10 places in the latest FIFA rankings, updated on Thursday.

According to the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), Bafana Bafana have dropped to the 69th spot in world and 18th on the continent. The drop was inevitable, considering the poor performance in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) cup last month. Bafana failed to score a goal in the two matches they played against Botswana and Malawi who rank below Shakes Mashaba’s side.

After being rejuvenated last year in August, Mashaba’s men climbed the rankings until this year’s Afcon where they were eliminated in the group stages, failing to win a single match. That poor display was repeated when Mashaba picked a ‘C-Team’ to play in the Cosafa Cup tournament.

Bafana will look to change their fortunes when they play Gambia next week Saturday in Durban as part of the African Cup of Nation (Afcon) qualifier.

Latest FIFA World Rankings:

1. Germany

2. Belgium

3. Argentina

4. Colombia

5. Brazil

6. Netherlands

7. Portugal

8. Uruguay

9. France

10. Spain

69. South Africa

CAF Rankings:

1. Algeria

2. Ivory Coast

3. Tunisia

4. Ghana

5. Senegal

6. Cape Verde Islands

7. Nigeria

8. Guinea

9. Congo

10. Cameroon

18. South Africa