Bafana Bafana’s incredible run at the AFCON finals will have the benefit of taking the senior national team back into the top 10 on the continent yet again.
Hugo Broos guided Bafana to a third-place finish against all odds in what was South Africa’s best finish at the tournament in 24 years.
READ | Broos: People can see why I'm proud of this team
Back in the days when Bafana were a force to be reckoned with and averaging a top 20 FIFA ranking, they finished third at the 2000 competition with Trott Moloto as head coach.
Since then, the best had been three quarter-final finishes while the worst was failure to qualify for four tournaments including the 2021 edition held in Cameroon.
However, with Broos on the wheel, Bafana’s dignity has been restored.
When Hugo Broos took over from Molefi Ntseki as the national team coach in May 2021, Bafana Bafana were in tatters and ranked 75.
The Belgian has slowly but surely repaired the damage he found despite all the bullets of unjustified criticism that he has taken in going through his duties.
With a third-place finish in Cote d’Ivoire achieved against a background of having arrived at the tournament ranked 12 on the continent, Bafana have earned their place.
The latest FIFA rankings that will be released on February 15 will have Bafana up the rankings.
On the global scale, Bafana will be expected to move into the top 60 while on they will subsequently break into the top on the CAF rankings.
Bafana’s best ranking since 2016 has been position 60 in the world while the worst was 81 in 2017.
READ | Bafana Bafana secure Bronze medal at AFCON
The best ranking ever achieved was in 1996 when the senior national team went up as high as 16th after winning the AFCON on home soil.
Bafana will arrive back on Wednesday morning, having also pocketed USD2,5 million (approx. R47,57 million) for their efforts.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
Click HERE to register!
