Johannesburg - South Africa dropped three places to 87th in the latest Fifa world rankings, released on Wednesday, one month before they open the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament.
Bafana Bafana have picked up two victories and three defeats since head coach Gordon Igesund took the reins in June.
Having struggled up front for most of the year, winning three of 10 games in 2012, they have fallen 31 positions since January.
Their latest rating leaves Bafana, who also slipped two places to 23rd among African nations, as the lowest-ranked team in Group A ahead of the Afcon tournament, and 12th of 16 teams in the continental competition.
Cape Verde Islands, their opponents in the January 19 opener in Johannesburg, are rated 69th, Morocco are 74th and Angola are 84th.
Spain remain top of the global rankings, and Ivory Coast, lying 14th overall, head the list among African teams.
South Africa play their first of three Afcon warm-up matches against Malawi in Durban on Saturday.
Sapa