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South Africa

Africa · CAF

Country profile →
#79ELO· 2026-06-02#60FIFA· 2026-04-01
1Continental titles· last 19962Continental finals reached

Footprint

Tournament appearances
19
Trophies
1
Major trophies
1
Last appearance
2026
World Cup appearances
4
Continental appearances
13
Last final reached
1998
Last trophy
1996

Comparable programs

Methodology

Five national programs whose honors profile and historical footprint sit closest to South Africa. Scored across World Cup pedigree, continental dominance (tier-adjusted), intercontinental wins, tournament span, and decade coverage. The labels describe the shared trait that drove the match.

Kuwait
Repeat continental finalists
Honors 2.00 · distance 0.31
Zambia
Repeat continental finalists
Honors 3.00 · distance 0.56
Libya
Repeat continental finalists
Honors 0.75 · distance 0.64
Jordan
Repeat continental finalists
Honors 0.50 · distance 0.65
Papua New Guinea
Repeat continental finalists
Honors 0.30 · distance 0.66

Tournament history

Most recent first. Every senior international tournament appearance on file: World Cups, continental cups, intercontinental tournaments, and selected others. The Name column shows what the team was called at the time of that appearance (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, etc. on rows played under a predecessor identity).

YearNameTournamentRound reached
2026South AfricaWCFIFA World Cup 2026Group Stage
2025South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2025Round of 16
2024South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2024Semifinal
2019South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2019Quarterfinal
2015South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2015Appearance
2013South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2013Quarterfinal
2010South AfricaWCFIFA World Cup 2010Appearance
2009South AfricaInterFIFA Confederations Cup 2009Semifinal
2008South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2008Appearance
2006South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2006Appearance
2005South AfricaGoldCONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup 2005Quarterfinal
2004South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2004Appearance
2002South AfricaWCFIFA World Cup 2002Appearance
2002South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2002Quarterfinal
2000South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 2000Semifinal
1998South AfricaWCFIFA World Cup 1998Appearance
1998South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 1998 Final
1997South AfricaInterFIFA Confederations Cup 1997Appearance
1996South AfricaAFCONAfrica Cup of Nations 1996 Champion

Tournament finals

Every senior-tournament final this team has played. Wins highlighted in gold; losses muted. Penalty shootouts shown as "PKs" alongside the regulation score.

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
1998Africa Cup of NationsEgypt0-2 Lost
1996Africa Cup of NationsTunisia2-0 Won