Bafana Bafana have climbed up two places on FIFA’s official world ranking chart, with the international governing body of football having released the latest seedings on Thursday, January 17.

South Africa have climbed from 87th place to 85th, with the national team’s recent international friendlies having affected their points tally on the overall standings. 

Coach Gordon Igesund is preparing his Bafana squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, with the move in standings being a positive indication that the team is progressing and improving, just in time for the continental showpiece.

From a CAF perspective, Bafana is ranked in 22nd place, with the Ivory Coast maintaining their title as the highest ranked African team. Algeria, Mali, Ghana and Zambia make up the top five ranked African nations, respectively.

The list of top 10 ranked nations, as according to FIFA, remains unchanged following the latest statistics. Spain head the charts, followed by Germany in second, Argentina in third, Italy in fourth and Colombia in fifth place.

England occupy sixth position, followed by Portugal, Holland, Russia and Croatia, who respectively complete the top 10.