SOUTH Africa have dropped one place in the latest Fifa World Rankings released yesterday and remain on the cusp of the top 50.

SOUTH Africa have dropped one place in the latest Fifa World Rankings released yesterday and remain on the cusp of the top 50.

Bafana Bafana are now at number 52 in the world and 12th in Africa, but will hope that a good 2015 Africa Cup of Nations against some highly ranked pool opponents will give them a boost up the table.

Of their group opponents in Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Ghana have remained unchanged at numbers 35 and 37 in the global list, while Algeria continue to head the African list and are positioned at number 18 in the world.

Zambia have been the biggest movers, climbing 16 places above Bafana Bafana to number 46 in the world.

Shakes Mashaba will be keen to make a significant move up the table ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, with the Fifa rankings used to seed the teams in the qualification pool.

If South Africa can be among the top seeds it should make for an easier path to Russia - in theory at least.

The African list is headed by Algeria, with Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana rounding out the top five. Guinea, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Nigeria and Zambia round out the top 10.

There is no change in the global top 10, with world champions Germany still on top, followed by Argentina, Colombia, Belgium and Netherlands. Brazil, Portugal, France, Spain and Uruguay round out the top 10.