Bafana Bafana have climbed to 48th in the FIFA World Rankings after winning all three matches during Pitso Mosimane’s first international break since returning as South Africa head coach.
Mosimane has made an ideal start to his second spell in charge, guiding the national team to victories over Guinea, Eritrea and Egypt in a demanding run of fixtures.
South Africa opened the break with a 2-1 win against Guinea in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. They then produced a convincing 5-0 victory over Eritrea before completing the sequence with a narrow success against Egypt in Cairo on Sunday.
The result against Egypt was the most difficult test of the three, but South Africa held on to finish the break with a perfect record and further improve their position in the world rankings.
They will have more Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month and will aim to maintain their momentum as they attempt to move into the top 40.
Mosimane combines experience with youth
During the qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea, Mosimane retained much of the squad that represented South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup under Hugo Broos.
The coach chose to continue with the established group that has brought Bafana Bafana success in recent years. That core has benefited from playing together regularly at international level and provided continuity at the beginning of Mosimane’s return.
He took a different approach for the journey to Cairo, introducing more young players against Egypt.
The newcomers responded to that opportunity with an impressive victory over a strong Egyptian team, giving Mosimane evidence that South Africa have further options as he considers the next stage of the squad’s development.
The win also provided momentum as Mosimane seeks to build on the foundations established by Broos while bringing through a new generation of South African players.
South Africa’s move to 48th is especially notable for Mosimane, who previously led the national team into the FIFA top 50 during his first spell in charge.
More than a decade later, he has returned to find Bafana Bafana back among the world’s 50 highest-ranked teams. Their latest run of results has also placed them on an upward path ahead of the next round of qualifiers.