Boxing national side

South Africa

National team · South Africa

«Bafana Bafana»

101 Matches

46 wins

39 draws

16 losses

137–82 Goals

+55 Difference

1.4 Scored per game

Form D L D W L W

Bafana Bafana carry no single named derby the way a club does, but the matches that raise the temperature run through the continent: Egypt, who denied them the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1998, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe just across the border. Those meetings matter more than league position ever could, because the national side spent years unable to play anyone at all. FIFA suspended South Africa in 1961 and expelled the country in 1976 over apartheid, and the team stayed outside international football until readmission in 1991 sent it back out in 1992.

What followed was fast. Four years after returning, Bafana Bafana hosted the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and won it, beating Tunisia 2–0 in the final under coach Clive Barker — a result that still anchors the team's identity more than anything since. They went back to the final in 1998 and lost to Egypt, then took third place in 2000 and again in 2023, beating DR Congo on penalties. Benni McCarthy scored more goals for the side than anyone else, 31 in total, before winning the UEFA Champions League with Porto in 2004; Lucas Radebe captained the team through those years while starring for Leeds United. Carlos Alberto Parreira later took charge for the 2010 World Cup, the tournament South Africa hosted on home soil.

The South African Football Association itself dates back to 1892, long before the current governing body took that name in 1991, and the national side's first international was played in 1906, against Argentina — decades before the team could compete freely under its own flag. Regionally, the COSAFA Cup has been friendlier ground, won five times since 2002.

Bafana Bafana play in green and gold and call the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg home, a bowl shaped like a calabash that holds close to 95,000 people and filled for that World Cup summer in 2010.

Latest results

Fixtures and results

26 Sep	Africa Cup of Nations - Qualification	Guinea H	2:1	W
28 Jun	World Cup	Canada H	0:1	L
25 Jun	World Cup	South Korea H	1:0	W
18 Jun	World Cup	Czech Republic A	1:1	D
11 Jun	World Cup	Mexico A	0:2	L
6 Jun	Friendlies	Jamaica A	1:1	D

Standing

World Cup - Qualification Africa

Group stage · Group C

#	Team	M	W	D	L	Goals	Pts
1	South Africa	10	5	3	2	15:9	18
2	Nigeria	10	4	5	1	15:8	17
3	Benin	10	5	2	3	12:11	17
4	Lesotho	10	3	3	4	9:12	12
5	Rwanda	10	3	2	5	5:9	11
6	Zimbabwe	10	0	5	5	5:12	5

Full table

Team statistics

matches counted in total: 101

101 Matches

46 wins

39 draws

16 losses

137–82 Goals

+55 Difference

1.4 Scored per game

Match outcomes matches counted in total: 101

46 39 16

wins draws losses

Scored and conceded last matches

scored — above the line conceded — below the line

Metric	Total	Home	Away
Matches	101	66	35
Scored	137	96	41
Conceded	82	40	42
Scored per game	1.4	1.5	1.2
Conceded per game	0.8	0.6	1.2
Difference	+55	+56	−1

Key players

by appearances over the last year

Ricardo Goss Goalkeeper 6 Matches

Ronwen Williams Goalkeeper 6 Matches

Aubrey Maphosa Modiba Defender 6 Matches

Thapelo Maseko Midfielder 6 Matches

Oswin Reagan Appollis Midfielder 6 Matches

S. Kabini Defender 6 Matches

Tholo Thabang Matuludi Defender 6 Matches

Ime Okon Defender 6 Matches

Squad of South Africa

by appearances over the last year

Number	Player	Position	Age	Matches
22	Ricardo Goss	Goalkeeper		6
1	Ronwen Williams	Goalkeeper		6
6	Aubrey Maphosa Modiba	Defender		6
12	Thapelo Maseko	Midfielder		6
7	Oswin Reagan Appollis	Midfielder		6
18	S. Kabini	Defender	22	6
2	Tholo Thabang Matuludi	Defender		6
21	Ime Okon	Defender	22	6
3	Hulumani Ndamani	Defender		6
10	R. Mofokeng	Midfielder	21	6
15	Iqraam Rayners	Forward		5
24	Olvetu Makhanja	Defender	22	5
25	Kamogelo Sebelebele	Defender		5
16	Sipho Chaine	Goalkeeper		5
4	Teboho Mokoena	Midfielder		5
13	Sphephelo S'Miso Sithole	Midfielder		5
23	Jayden Oswin Adams	Midfielder		5
9	Lyle Brent Foster	Forward		5
5	Thalente Mbatha	Midfielder		5
14	Mbekelezi Mbokazi	Defender		5
20	Khuliso Johnson Mudau	Defender		5
19	Nkosinathi Sibisi	Defender		5
8	Tshepang Moremi	Forward		5
17	Evidence Makgopa	Forward		5
26	Bradley Cross	Defender		4
11	Themba Zwane	Midfielder		3
30	Bathusi Jurry Aubaas	Midfielder		1
28	Thapelo James Morena	Defender		1
9	J. Mbutuma	Forward		1
17	Luther Wesley Singh	Forward		1
5	Lebonye Sima	Defender		1
27	Cassius Mailula	Forward		1
99	Bongokuhle Hlongwane	Forward		1
16	Renaldo Leaner	Goalkeeper		1