Bafana Bafana have dropped in the latest FIFA rankings following October’s African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Hugo Broos’ team played Congo Brazzaville twice, winning at home and then drawing 1-1 away. Bafana Bafana defeated Congo 5-0 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium earlier this month in one of their best performances of the decade.
Unfortunately, the team did not show the same form in their away match a couple of days later. Needing a win to qualify for next year’s Afcon, Bafana Bafana played to a draw. They still have two matches left to secure a ticket to Morocco next year.
The draw against Congo has affected Bafana Bafana’s FIFA rankings as they drop down to 60th. They remain 11th in Africa but still have a chance to improve next year when the team plays the final Afcon qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Morocco remains Africa’s highest-ranked nation and is positioned 13th overall, followed by Senegal. Egypt are 30th in the world while Nigeria climbed to 36th, just one spot above Algeria.
Bafana Bafana reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year which saw them rise to 58th in the FIFA rankings. Broos’ men have been inconsistent since the Afcon and their draws with Andorra, Congo and Uganda have affected their chances to rise in the rankings.
Why Bafana Bafana are not improving in the FIFA rankings
Bafana at one stage where unbeaten in 13 matches but hardly improved in the rankings. This was because Broos’ team failed to beat teams ranked lower, especially in qualifiers. Bafana failed to secure six points from Congo and that alone was enough to see Bafana fail to make a jump. The Congolese are ranked way below South Africa, the same as Uganda. Anything less than a win against these teams affects Bafana Bafana’s rankings.
Are FIFA rankings biased?
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