Bafana up 1 spot in latest FIFA rankings

Cape Town - Bafana Bafana have climbed one spot to 73rd in the latest men's FIFA world rankings released on Thursday.

Stuart Baxter's side though remain 14th in Africa.

The top three in the world rankings remain unchanged with Belgium retaining top spot followed by World Cup winners France and Brazil. England though leapfrog Croatia into fourth position.

Uruguay are the only other movers within the top ten moving up one spot to sixth.

Baxter's side have qualified for this year's AFCON tournament in Egypt finishing behind Group E winners Nigeria after a 2-1 away win over Libya in Tunisia.

As a result South Africa have moved up in the rankings.

It's a far cry from the glory days when Bafana cracked the top 20 in the rankings (at 19th) after winning the 1996 African Cup of Nations.

Senegal remain the top-ranked side in Africa, followed by Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco and DR Congo who move into the top five teams on the continent.

The next FIFA world rankings will be published on June 14, 2019.

Top 20 in the latest FIFA rankings:

1. Belgium (1)

2. France (2)

3. Brazil (3)

4. England (5)

5. Croatia (4)

6. Uruguay (7)

7. Portugal (6)

8. Switzerland (8)

9. Spain (9)

10. Denmark (10)

11. Argentina (11)

12. Colombia (12)

13. Germany (16)

14. Sweden (14)

15. Chile (13)

16. Netherlands (14)

17. Italy (18)

18. Mexico (17)

19. Wales (19)

20. Poland (20)

Also:

73. South Africa