The 1996 African champions played four games in 2020 under coach Molefi – recording two wins, one draw and one defeat
The South Africa national team will enter the new year unchanged on the Fifa world rankings from the 71th position they ended 2019 on.
In a year where international football was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Bafana Bafana managed to play just four matches.
They first drew 1-1 with Namibia, before losing 2-1 to Zambia in October’s international friendly matches, results that saw them slid a rung down to position 72.
But after beating Sao Tome e Principe 2-0 and 4-2 in back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers, South Africa then returned to number 71, the same standing they ended the year 2019 on.
Those results against the islanders saw them remain on second position in Group C which is led by Ghana with whom they have the similar number of points, but undone by head-to-head record.
They will enter 2021 ranked 13th in Africa as Senegal lead Caf standings, followed by reigning African champions Algeria.
Bafana will now seek to improve their standings in March next year when they host Ghana and then visit Sudan in Afcon qualifiers.
A positive result against the Black Stars who are ranked 52 in the world and eighth in Africa will certainly earn South Africa a good position.
Also likely to boost their global placing are the results from the bid to book a ticket for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Dates for the quest to qualify for Qatar 2022 are yet to be finalised but Bafana are in Group G where they will again meet Ghana.
Zimbabwe and Ethiopia complete this pool which is likely to provide a stern test for coach Molefi Ntseki and his men.
What could motivate South Africa to claim good results is that they last qualified for the World Cup in 2002, while they had an automatic place in 2010 as hosts.
Be the first to comment