Bafana back into top 50 despite draw- 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00
Bafana Bafana has moved back into the top 50 in the latest FIFA world rankings, despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Sierra Leone in their final 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier earlier this month.
South Africa moved up two places to number 49 in the world and eighth in Africa, moving above Burkina Faso in the continental rankings.
The improving ranking will be of little consolation, following the team’s failure to qualify for the Nations Cup to be held in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, starting in January.
However, Egypt (second in Africa), Algeria (fourth), Nigeria (sixth) and Cameroon (seventh) also failed to qualify.
Cote d’Ivoire remain the best-placed African side as they lead the continental list, and are placed 19th in the global rankings, followed by Egypt, Ghana, Algeria and Senegal.
There was just one change in the top five in the global list with Brazil moving into fifth - Spain remain number one, followed by Netherlands, Germany and Uruguay.
CONNECT WITH US
Follow @SportIndustrySA