Zebras rankings earn World Cup bye

The Zebras are among the 28 teams in Africa that will start their campaign at the group stage after 24 weaker sides have sorted out each other in knock-out first round in November this year. The 12 winners will join the 28 teams in the second round, which will consist of 10 groups of four teams each.  The second round of the qualifiers start in June next year to be followed by a third round where the 10 group winners face each other in another knock-out format to decide who makes to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The qualifiers end in November 2013.

The Zebras, for long among the lowly ranked nations in Africa, have been on the ascendancy since a fairytale Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers run began last July. Their good performance under coach, Stanley Tshosane has seen the team rise from a lowly 105 in the world to 69th while in Africa the Zebras have improved from 39th to 14th in under 12 months.