Just like a bikini, the Fifa rankings conceal the real story behind Bafana's World Cup chances

NOW that the Bafana Bafana's 2026 Fifa World Cup-bound squad has been announced, it is safe to say that the sideshows are over, and it is time for coach Hugo Broos to intensify his preparations.

In my book, that starts with a deep look into Group A, where the South Africans will be mixing it up with North American co-hosts Mexico, Asia's South Korea, and Europe's Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic).

On paper, all three nations are better than Bafana, and that is supported by their Fifa World Rankings; Mexico are the top-ranked side at 15th, Korea come in at 25th, with Czechia running at 41st. Broos’ men are 60th.

On Thursday morning, I came across an online article that challenged South Africa’s status in Group A. In fact, the article did more than challenge South Africa’s status; it actually labelled them the whipping boys of Group A, and that conclusion was based on exactly that — South Africa’s World Ranking of 60th.

The article is originally from Korea, and the South African publication (Soccer Laduma) that ran its own analysis highlighted:

"The overwhelming view is that Mexico will win the group due to their home-ground advantage, leaving South Korea and Czechia to battle for second place, with every journalist, unsurprisingly, choosing the Asian side to advance."

Yes, the Asians’ self-praise is actually warranted considering that, besides being the second-best-ranked team in the group, they also boast the biggest star name among all four nations — the Tottenham Hotspur legend Heung-min Son, who will be appearing in his fourth World Cup.

Just like that, this means that the Koreans will be making their eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance.

Far ahead is Mexico, who are among the mainstays of the global showpiece, having appeared in almost every tournament in the modern era.

It is, however, a very different story for Czechia, who are making only their second World Cup finals appearance since 1994, the year of South Africa’s achieved its democracy. They had last appeared in Italy in 1990 as Czechoslovakia — their most successful era being from 1930 to 1994.

No self-respecting South African would allow the narrative that the Czechs are a better footballing nation than Mzansi, considering that whilst Bafana are making their fourth appearance in 28 years, the Central Europeans will only be making their second appearance in the tournament over the same period.

Within the past 28 years, they only played in Germany 2006, where they exited at the group stage. They were not there in 1998 when Bafana made their debut, they were nowhere to be seen four years later in 2002, and the African World Cup of 2010 hosted by South Africa is as good as a bedtime story to them.

Sure, they say numbers don’t lie, but many would tell you that rankings do not play the game. Just as the well-spoken Steve Komphela once said: “Statistics are like a bikini, they don't reveal everything.”

The Bafana players will have to carry these words with them as they prepare to fight for respect in Group A.

The only numbers that will matter, is the the goals scored. With these words I say, “Good luck Bafana!” Go and re-announce yourselves at the Aztec Stadium on June 11.