Bafana slip down the rankings

Paris - Bafana Bafana have dropped further down the latest FIFA world rankings, still headed by Spain, released on Thursday.

Gordon Igesund's men are now ranked 68th in the world and remain the 12th ranked team in Africa, with the Ivory Coast leading the way for the African continent.

Meanwhile, Belgium's rise as a footballing power has been underlined as they rose four places to be ranked sixth in the world.

However, England have continued to slide down the list despite collecting four points from their last two World Cup qualifiers.

Behind World and European champions Spain is Argentina - who this week clinched qualification for next year's World Cup in Brazil - moving ahead of Germany, who moved down to third.

Italy and Colombia complete the top five.

Marc Wilmots' side are on the verge of qualifying for next year's World Cup, having failed to reach a major tournament finals since the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

It is the continuation of a stunning rise for a nation who were down in 53rd place in August last year.

England's ranking of 17th is their lowest since 2001, but they were not the only nation to slide down the list.

Bosnia-Herzegovina dropped five places to 18th and the Netherlands slid four to ninth, despite this week qualifying for the World Cup finals.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland rocketed up 23 places to 86th, despite a midweek loss away to the minnows of Luxembourg.

Leading worl rankings as of September 12:
1. Spain
2. Argentina (+2 places)
3. Germany (-1)
4. Italy (+2)
5. Colombia (-2)
6. Belgium (+4)
7. Uruguay (+5)
8. Brazil (+1)
9. Netherlands (-4)
10. Croatia (-2)
11. Portugal (-4)
12. Greece (-1)
13. USA (+6)
14. Switzerland (+1)
15. Russia (+)
16. Chile (+5)
17. England (-3)
18. Bosnia-Herzegovina (-5)
19. Ivory Coast (-1)
20. Ecuador (-3)

68. South Africa (-1)

Africa (world ranking):
1. Ivory Coast (19)
2. Ghana (24)
3. Algeria (28)
4. Nigeria (36)
5. Mali (38)
6. Cape Verde Islands (44)
7. Tunisia (46)
8. Egypt (50)
9. Burkina Faso (51)
10. Cameroon (61)

12. South Africa (68)