Bafana Drop Down in FIFA Ranking After Defeat in France, Now Ranked 13th Best Side on the African Continent

Bafana Drop Down in FIFA Ranking After Defeat in France, Now Ranked 13th Best Side on the African Continent

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:59 PM
  • Bafana are ranked as the 69th best side in the world after dropping down the official FIFA rankings
  • Bafana are also currently the 13th best side in Africa and are only one place above Cape Verde and two behind Ghana
  • Banyana Banyana have climbed up the rankings and are currently the 57th best women's team in the world

Bafana’s embarrassing defeat to France is still a sore point for South Africans, and the latest FIFA rankings will do little to improve the mood.

The FIFA rankings were updated after the latest round of international friendlies and World Cup qualifiers.

Bafana, Drop Down, FIFA Rankings, Defeat, France, African Continent, South Africa, FIFA, World, Africa, Sport
Bafana have dropped down a place in the FIFA rankings after their draw with Guinea and embarrassing defeat to the French. @iDiskiTimes
Source: Twitter

Bafana were involved in two international friendlies, a goalless draw against and a humiliating defeat to world champions France. As a result of their poor performances, the South African side dropped down one place in the rankings, KickOff reported.

Bafana now find themselves in 69th place, one place above Montenegro and one place behind United Arab Emirates. Bafana are also nine places behind the Ghanaians on the overall standings, with The Black Stars coming in at number 60.

On the African continent, Bafana are currently ranked 13th, as per the FIFA website. Senegal still lead the way on the continent, followed by Morocco and Nigeria. Ghana are two places above the South Africans when it comes to the African rankings.

South Africa’s highest placed ranking came in 1996 when the team were considered the 16th best side in the world. The worst that they’ve ever ranked is 124.

On the women’s side of the game, Banyana Banyana are currently ranked at number 57. Banyana has climbed up the table after qualifying for AWCON recently.

Despite failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Nigeria move two places in latest FIFA ranking

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have moved up two spots in the latest FIFA ranking despite missing out on the 2022 World Cup after Ghana qualified courtesy of the away goals rule, Sports Brief reported.

Despite playing two draws with the Black Stars of Ghana, Nigeria moved from 32nd to 30th in the world, while Ghana are still outside the top 10 teams on the continent moving up a spot from 61st to 60th in the ranking.

The Eagles remain the third-best team on the continent behind AFCON winners Senegal 20th and North African side Morocco 24th. The Pharaohs of Egypt, 32nd and Tunisia, 35th make up the top five teams on the continent.

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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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