South Africa’s latest international victory has done little to improve their global standing, with Bafana Bafana dropping two places in the November FIFA rankings despite extending their extraordinary unbeaten run. Hugo Broos’ charges defeated Zambia 3-1 in Gqeberha last weekend, yet the win – their only fixture of the international window – was not enough to prevent a slide from 59th to 61st in the world.
Goals from Oswin Appollis, Mohau Nkota and Yaya Sithole secured a confident win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, stretching Bafana’s undefeated streak to 19 matches across all competitions. However, the victory came in a friendly against lower-ranked opposition, and FIFA’s ranking formula allocates very little weight to such fixtures. Zambia’s own fall to 90th meant Broos’ team gained almost no rating points from the encounter, resulting in a second consecutive ranking dip. Mzansi South Africa Football suggested that DR Congo’s win over Nigeria and Cameroon played a part.
The timing of the downturn is significant. FIFA confirmed that the November rankings will be used to seed teams for the 2026 World Cup draw, scheduled for 5 December in Washington, D.C. With their current placing, South Africa have also slipped out of Africa’s top 10, overtaken by DR Congo following their CAF Play-Off triumph.
Of the 42 teams already qualified for the expanded 48-nation World Cup, only four – Jordan, Curacao, Haiti and New Zealand – are ranked lower than South Africa. Within CAF, only Cape Verde (68) and Ghana (72) sit below Bafana among the qualified sides. While confederation separation rules ensure teams from the same region cannot meet in the group stage, the rankings will still determine which pot South Africa fall into.
Unless FIFA opts to place all six yet-to-be-decided play-off winners – including potentially high-ranking Italy – into Pot 4, Bafana appear destined to slot into the lowest seeded tier. Even if the play-off winners are collectively pushed down, South Africa would only climb as high as the final position in Pot 3. With 12 groups at the tournament, the seeding will directly influence Bafana’s potential opponents.
A scan of the qualified field emphasises the challenge ahead. All South American participants are ranked comfortably above Bafana, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay. The same applies across UEFA, where Spain, France, England, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany headline a powerful contingent. Even additional European hopefuls still fighting through play-offs are largely ranked far higher, from Italy (12) down to Ireland (59).
Asia offers little relief, where only Jordan sit below Bafana in the rankings. Iraq, one of the Asian play-off contenders, are placed 58th. Two CONCACAF qualifiers – Curacao and Haiti – fall beneath South Africa, while the entire Oceania region is ranked lower, including New Zealand and New Caledonia.
Despite the rankings setback, Broos and his squad remain focused on their next major assignment: the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Drawn into a tricky Group B alongside Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe, Bafana will aim not only to progress but also to replicate or surpass their impressive third-place finish at AFCON 2023. With momentum on their side, the team remains confident—even as the global ranking picture paints a more sobering reality ahead of the World Cup draw.