Current FIFA World Ranking: 86th
FIFA Trigram: RSA
2010 World Cup Qualifying: Host Country
World Cup Finals Appearances: 3 – 1998 (24th), 2002 (17th), 2010
Record vs. USA: 0-2-0
Head Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira (Brazil)
Championship Honors: African Cup of Nations (1996)
Key Players: Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth), Steven Pienaar (Everton), MacBeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan)
Languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, English, Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, Ndebele
Nickamed Bafana Bafana, South Africa qualified for the tournament by virtue of their status as hosts … Carlos Alberto Pareira retook the manager's reigns in late 2009 following the dismissal of Joel Santana … Claimed fourth in the 2009 Confederations Cup and memorably pushed Spain to the brink in the third place game … Will be able to rely on vast support from the home fans during their run in South Africa … Defeated 1-0 by the U.S. on Nov. 17, 2007 in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup … Midfielder Steven Pienaar is a teammate of U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard at Everton
