South Africa's national team Bafana Bafana, have surged upward in the recent world rankings released by Fifa on Thursday.
The Hugo Broos' led team recently played in the 2026 Fifa World Cup in Group C, registering convincing results. They initially beat Lesotho, albeit controversially, 2-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, before registering the same result against Benin in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The result put Bafana Bafana at the top of Group C with 13 points from six games, five more than Benin and Rwanda, who have eight points each. Nigeria, who have been inconsistent but still regarded as South Africa's main challengers in the pool, have managed just seven points so far.
The recent wins mean the national team has gone 18 games without tasting a loss.
Bafana Bafana gained, but Benni McCarthy's Harambee Stars dropped
In the latest rankings released by Fifa, Bafana Bafana have moved from their initial 57th position to 56. It means they are inside the top 10 teams in the continent alongside Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Mali.
However, Benni McCarthy's Kenya has dropped three positions to 111 from the initial 108. The East African nation played to a 3-3 draw with The Gambia before falling 2-1 against Gabon at home despite their impressive showings.
Broos now hope to collect as many points as possible in the remaining matches to qualify for the prestigious global competition for the first time since 2010. However, for Benni, his main task is to build a competitive team for CHAN and the 2027 Afcon that Kenya will jointly host alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
