Bafana Bafana are continuing their rise up the FIFA World Rankings after a perfect international break under returning head coach Pitso Mosimane.
South Africa ended the latest international window with three wins from three, beating Guinea 2–1, Eritrea 5–0 and then securing a memorable 1–0 victory over Egypt in Cairo. Puso Dithejane was the hero, scoring on his Bafana debut to give the team a massive result away from home.
The victory over Egypt is particularly important for South Africa’s ranking hopes because FIFA’s ranking system takes the strength of the opposition into account. Egypt entered the international window as one of Africa’s highest-ranked teams, meaning a win against them provides Bafana with valuable ranking points.
South Africa have already made significant progress in the rankings, moving back into the FIFA top 50 after spending years outside that group. The latest movement has placed Bafana around the 48th–49th position in live ranking calculations, with FIFA’s next official ranking update scheduled for 7 October.
The recent results also show how quickly things can change when Bafana consistently collect positive results. Under returning coach Pitso Mosimane, South Africa have started the new chapter with three consecutive victories, while the emergence of players such as Puso Dithejane has added excitement around the national team.
For Bafana, the challenge now is to maintain this momentum. More wins against strong opposition would give South Africa further opportunities to collect ranking points and potentially move closer to the FIFA top 40.
The Egypt victory therefore means more than just three points or another memorable result. It could be another important step in South Africa’s climb up the world rankings, with Bafana now looking to turn their recent momentum into sustained progress on the international stage.