33·Legends

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South Africa

The thirty-three greatest. Build your eleven, then settle the duels.

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The 33 of South Africa

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88 Benni McCarthy 79 caps · 31 goals · Cape Town Spurs, RC Celta de VigoBobo-Dioulasso, 16 February 1998: McCarthy scored in the 8th, 11th, 19th and 21st minutes against Namibia, four goals before the half hour at the Africa Cup of Nations. He left Burkina Faso as top scorer and player of the tournament, then became the only South African to win the Champions League, with Porto in 2004, adding two Portuguese titles, the 2003/04 Golden Boot, an Eredivisie title at Ajax and a national record of 31 goals. ST1998–2004

2 LR 87 Lucas Radebe 70 caps · Kaizer Chiefs, Leeds United · Hall of Fame 2005When Nelson Mandela came to Leeds in April 2001 to collect the freedom of the city, he stopped in front of Radebe, said "Ah, Mthimkhulu", then turned to the crowd and called him his hero. He won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, captained South Africa at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups over 70 caps, wore the Leeds armband for seven years, and took FIFA's Fair Play Award in 2000. CB1996–2002

84 Steven Pienaar 61 caps · 3 goals · AFC Ajax, Borussia DortmundEverton's thousandth Premier League goal was a Pienaar header against Tottenham on 9 December 2012, scored in the blue shirt he wore for 203 games while he and Leighton Baines ran the left touchline together. Two Eredivisie titles and a KNVB Cup came earlier at Ajax, Everton's Player of the Season followed in 2010, and he took 61 caps into two World Cups, wearing 10 at home in 2010. CM2010–12

4 DK 83 Doctor Khumalo 50 caps · 9 goals · Kaizer Chiefs, Ferro Carril OesteThe terraces called him 16V, after the fastest engine on the road, and on 7 July 1992 at Kings Park he settled South Africa's first sanctioned international in decades with an 82nd minute penalty against Cameroon. He won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations at home, robbing two Tunisians in the final to lay on both of Mark Williams' goals, and collected the rest of his medals with Kaizer Chiefs, where he spent most of his career. CM1992–96

5 IK 83 Itumeleng Khune Kaizer ChiefsA scorpion kick clearance on 28 October 2015 is the save Chiefs supporters replay, though the one that travelled further was the David Villa penalty he beat away at the 2009 Confederations Cup. Voted PSL Footballer of the Season in 2012/13, a rare thing for a goalkeeper, he added three Goalkeeper of the Season awards, league titles in 2013 and 2015, domestic cups with Kaizer Chiefs, and more than 90 caps, more than any South African goalkeeper. GK2009–15

6 JS 83 Jomo Sono Colorado Caribous, Atlanta ChiefsA Pirates supporter renamed the teenager Jomo, burning spear, after Kenyatta, and by 1977 he had crossed to the New York Cosmos to share a dressing room with Pelé, Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto. He drove Orlando Pirates' 1974 sweep of the league, the Top 8 Cup, the Life Cup and the Champion of Champions trophy, then bought Highlands Park in 1982 as the first Black owner of a white club and made it Jomo Cosmos, national champions in 1987. CM1974–87

83 Mark Fish 62 caps · Orlando Pirates, Bolton WanderersThe quarter-final against Algeria in January 1996 was goalless into the 72nd minute when Fish, a centre back, scored the first goal of a night that ended 2-1 to South Africa. He lifted that Africa Cup of Nations a week later, had won the African Cup of Champions Clubs with Orlando Pirates in 1995, was runner-up in 1998, and made the Team of the Tournament in 1996, 1998 and at the 1997 Confederations Cup. CB1995–98

8 SB 83 Shaun Bartlett 74 caps · 28 goals · Cape Town Spurs, FC ZürichCharlton were leading Leicester 1-0 at The Valley on 1 April 2001 when Bartlett, on loan from Zurich, hit the left-foot volley that won the BBC goal of the season. Second only to Benni McCarthy among South Africa's scorers, with 29 goals in 74 caps, he won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, scored twice at France 98, and made the Team of the Tournament when Bafana took third place in 2000. ST1996–2001

9 AM 82 Aaron Mokoena 107 caps · K.R.C. Genk, Blackburn RoversMbazo, the Axe, led the host nation out at Soccer City on 11 June 2010 and played the full ninety minutes of the 1-1 draw with Mexico that opened the World Cup. He finished with 107 caps, more than any other South African, having debuted in 1999 within months of turning eighteen, and he captained Bafana at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2009 Confederations Cup before losing the FA Cup final with Portsmouth in 2010. CB1999–2010

10 PM 82 Phil Masinga 58 caps · 18 goals · Jomo Cosmos, Mamelodi SundownsFourteen minutes into the winner-takes-all night against Congo at FNB Stadium on 16 August 1997, Masinga struck from around 30 yards, and that goal alone carried South Africa to their first World Cup. Chippa had already won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and would finish runner-up in 1998, scoring 18 goals in 58 caps, and he played at France 98 before four seasons in Serie A with Bari. SS1996–98

11 QF 82 Quinton Fortune 46 caps · 2 goals · Atlético Madrid B, Manchester UnitedDeep into stoppage time in South Africa's opening match against Paraguay in Busan on 2 June 2002, Fortune scored the penalty that rescued a 2-2 draw. He won the Premier League with Manchester United in 2003, plus the Intercontinental Cup in 1999 and the Community Shield, and played 46 times for South Africa across the 1998 and 2002 World Cups after three years at Atletico Madrid. CAM1998–2003

12 DB 81 Delron Buckley Bielefeld took him for a single season in 2004 and Buckley gave them 15 goals, the return that kept the club up and took him on to Borussia Dortmund. Bochum had signed him at 17, and the left winger went on to 73 caps and 10 goals for South Africa, the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, and the 2008 German Cup final with Dortmund. LM1998–2008

13 JM 81 John Moshoeu 73 caps · 8 goals · Giant Blackpool, KocaelisporGhana arrived in Soweto for the 1996 semi-final and Moshoeu scored in the 22nd minute and again in the 87th, the two ends of a 3-0 win. Shoes came out of that tournament an Africa Cup of Nations winner and its second top scorer on four goals, later won two league titles with Kaizer Chiefs, played 73 times for South Africa, and became the oldest scorer in PSL history at 41. CAM1990s

14 NT 81 Neil Tovey 52 caps · Durban City, AmaZuluOn 3 February 1996, with 80,000 inside FNB Stadium, Tovey took the Africa Cup of Nations trophy from Nelson Mandela after Mark Williams came off the bench to beat Tunisia. That was South Africa's first continental title, and their captain wore the armband 29 times in 52 caps, spent nine years and 362 appearances at Kaizer Chiefs, and holds the record for most appearances in the National Soccer League. CB1990s

15 SZ 81 Sibusiso Zuma 67 caps · 13 goals · African Wanderers, Orlando PiratesOn 10 June 2001 at Parken he chested down a pass against Brøndby and hooked it over his shoulder past Mogens Krogh, a goal Denmark voted the best of the Superliga decade and marked with a monument at the ground in 2013. Two Danish league titles with Copenhagen, the 2001 Super Cup, the 2010 Danish Cup with Nordsjælland, 66 caps and 13 goals for South Africa, the 2002 World Cup and the captain's armband at the 2006 Nations Cup. RM2001–13

16 TM 81 Teko Modise 57 caps · Pietersburg Pillars, SuperSport UnitedTwo seasons after being voted the best player in South Africa's second tier in 2006, Modise was PSL Footballer of the Year, and Pirates supporters had already named him the General. He won that award again in 2009, lifted the CAF Champions League with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016, added the CAF Super Cup, two league titles and the 2015 Nedbank Cup, and played at the 2010 World Cup at home among his 66 caps. CDM2006–16

17 AN 80 Anele Ngcongca 53 caps · Western Province United, K.R.C. GenkNine years at Genk brought him 223 matches at right back, from his arrival out of Cape Town aged 19 in 2007 to a place in the club's team of the decade. The 2010-11 Belgian title came with two cups and a Super Cup there; Mamelodi Sundowns then gave him three straight South African championships from 2018 and the 2020 Nedbank Cup, and 53 caps took in the 2010 World Cup on home soil. RB2007–20

18 BB 80 Brian Baloyi 24 caps · Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi SundownsKaizer Chiefs went to Ellis Park on 1 December 2001 with him in goal and the captain's armband on his sleeve, and Patrick Mabedi's penalty beat Inter Luanda to make them champions of Africa. That African Cup Winners' Cup capped a treble season at a club where he played 338 games and left in 2004 as a league champion, and he kept goal through South Africa's run to the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations final, one of 24 caps. GK1998–2004

19 PT 80 Percy Tau Mamelodi Sundowns, Witbank SpursTau scored in first-half stoppage time of the CAF Champions League final first leg on 4 June 2023, putting Al Ahly ahead of Wydad in Cairo, and the 3-2 aggregate that followed made him a continental champion. A second Champions League followed in 2024, along with the 2023 African Inter-Club Player of the Year award as the first South African to win it, the Belgian title with Club Brugge, and PSL Footballer of the Year in 2018. SS2018–24

20 ST 80 Siphiwe Tshabalala Free State Stars, Kaizer ChiefsThe 55th minute of 11 June 2010 belongs to him: Teko Modise sent him clear and his left foot beat the Mexico goalkeeper for the first goal of Africa's first World Cup, in his 50th cap. It was nominated for the Puskás Award, and he stands second on South Africa's all-time caps list with 90, having won two PSL titles with Kaizer Chiefs, the 2013 Nedbank Cup, three Telkom Knockouts and Footballer of the Year in 2010. CM2010–13

21 SN 80 Siyabonga Nomvethe 81 caps · 16 goals · Kaizer Chiefs, Aalborg BoldspilklubFour minutes into South Africa's 2002 World Cup opener, Quinton Fortune's free kick dipped and went in off his thigh, not the head he had jumped for, and it beat Slovenia on 8 June. Two World Cups, the 2005 Allsvenskan with Djurgården and the 2008 Danish title with AaB stand on his record, and at 34 he took the PSL Golden Boot with 20 goals plus Footballer of the Year, ending as the second highest scorer in league history. ST2002–08

22 AA 79 Andre Arendse 67 caps · Cape Town Spurs, Mamelodi SundownsBehind Radebe and Fish on 3 February 1996, Arendse kept Tunisia out for the whole final at FNB Stadium while 80,000 people and Nelson Mandela waited for Mark Williams to settle it in two minutes. That Africa Cup of Nations remains South Africa's only continental title, and Arendse added a third place in 2000, 67 caps, first-choice duty at the 2002 World Cup, the PSL Player of the Season award in 2002 and a league title with SuperSport United. GK1996–2002

23 DN 79 David Nyathi 45 caps · C.D. Tenerife, FC St. GallenOn 13 January 1996 he lined up at FNB Stadium for South Africa's opening match of their home Nations Cup, a 3-0 win over Cameroon, carrying the nickname Going Up from his Orlando Pirates days. South Africa won it, their only continental title, and he was chosen in the team of the tournament at the 1997 Confederations Cup before the 1998 World Cup in France, 45 caps in all, with club years at Tenerife, St Gallen and Cagliari. LB1996–98

24 ET 79 Eric Tinkler 48 caps · Vitória, Cagliari CalcioHe started the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations final at FNB Stadium on 3 February and came off in the 51st minute, twenty-two minutes before Mark Williams scored twice to beat Tunisia. That Nations Cup remains South Africa's only continental title, and he added a place in history as the first South African to play in Serie A, at Cagliari in 1996-97, before five seasons and 99 league games at Barnsley, and 45 caps between 1994 and 2002. CB1994–2002

25 HM 79 Helman Mkhalele 66 caps · 8 goals · Jomo Cosmos, Orlando PiratesThe terraces called him the Midnight Express for what he did to full backs down the left, and in 1995 he was on that flank when Orlando Pirates won the African Cup of Champions Clubs. A year later he was an Africa Cup of Nations winner with Bafana Bafana at home, and he went on to the 1997 Confederations Cup and the 1998 World Cup, finishing with 66 caps, eight goals and a 1994 league title at Pirates. LM1994–98

79 Kagisho Dikgacoi 54 caps · Lamontville Golden Arrows, FulhamA foul on Ashley Young at Old Trafford on 14 September 2013 got him sent off and gave Manchester United a penalty, and the club insisted the contact came outside the box. He had helped Palace out of the Championship at Wembley that May, and his 54 caps for South Africa covered the 2010 World Cup at home, the 2009 Confederations Cup semi-final run and two Nations Cups, after four seasons anchoring Golden Arrows. CDM2009–13

27 KM 79 Katlego Mphela 53 caps · 23 goals · RC Strasbourg Alsace, SuperSport UnitedTrailing Spain in the third place playoff at the 2009 Confederations Cup, he stood over a free kick 30 yards out in stoppage time and buried it, forcing extra time in Rustenburg. A year later he scored South Africa's second in the 2-1 win over France at the 2010 World Cup, and his 2009-10 season at Mamelodi Sundowns brought 17 goals, the PSL Golden Boot and Players' Player of the Season, part of 23 goals in 53 caps. ST2009–10

28 SM 79 Sizwe Motaung 51 caps · Jomo Cosmos, FC St. GallenA South African right back at St Gallen and Tenerife in the late nineties, Motaung had already played the 1996 final at FNB Stadium under Clive Barker. He won the Africa Cup of Nations that February, collected 49 caps between 1992 and 1997, played for Jomo Cosmos, Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, and died in Newcastle on 16 August 2001 at the age of 31. RB1992–2001

78 Macbeth Sibaya 58 caps · Jomo Cosmos, Rubin KazanRubin Kazan signed him in 2003 and kept him for seven seasons and 131 league games, a South African holding midfielder screening the back four through Tatarstan winters. The club won the Russian championship in 2008, its first, and retained it in 2009; a Norwegian title with Rosenborg came earlier, and his 62 caps include both the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, a double few South Africans have managed. CDM2002–10

30 MM 78 Mbulelo Mabizela 45 caps · Orlando Pirates, Platinum StarsSent on for his Tottenham debut at Leicester in October 2003, he lashed the equaliser into the top corner, the only goal he ever scored for the club, and Frédéric Kanouté won it late. He won the South African league with Orlando Pirates in 2002-03, took PSL Rookie of the Year in 2002 and Player of the Season in 2003, and that June, aged 22, became the youngest captain South Africa has had, one of 45 caps. CB2002–03

31 TM 78 Tsepo Masilela 51 caps · Hellenic, Thanda Royal ZuluSent on for Lucas Thwala at half-time of the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, Masilela was on the pitch ten minutes later when Siphiwe Tshabalala's shot flew in at Soccer City. He won two Israeli league titles with Maccabi Haifa in 2009 and 2011 and played Champions League football with them, and he gathered 51 caps for South Africa across the 2009 Confederations Cup, the home World Cup and the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. LB2009–13

32 SF 77 Stanton Fredericks 14 caps · 2 goals · Kaizer Chiefs, S.F. Pierikos Katerinis (football)Stiga was what the terraces called him, and in 2003 he scored in the final of the Coca-Cola Cup for Kaizer Chiefs, then the richest cup competition in Africa. That trophy went to Chiefs, and he added 24 South Africa caps with two goals, a place in the squad at the 2000 Olympics and the 2004 Nations Cup, 18 goals in 115 games for Wits University and 25 in 77 for Pierikos in Greece. RM2000–04

33 TM 77 Thabo Mooki Kaizer ChiefsTsiki-Tsiki was the name that stuck, and he never wore another club's shirt, close to 350 appearances for Kaizer Chiefs across fifteen seasons from his debut in 1994 under Philippe Troussier. He was in midfield when Chiefs beat Inter Luanda for the 2001 African Cup Winners' Cup, the centrepiece of a treble, and he added league titles, domestic cups and the club's Chairman's Award in 2008, with three South Africa caps and a goal against Namibia. CAM1994–2008

About this XI

Benni McCarthy tops South Africa's all-time pool, ahead of Lucas Radebe and Steven Pienaar. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 14 midfielders and 6 forwards. Benni McCarthy leads the pool at 88 overall. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.

Who is the greatest South Africa footballer of all time?

In the 33 Legends editorial ranking, Benni McCarthy leads South Africa with an overall rating of 88. The editorial top five: Benni McCarthy, Lucas Radebe, Steven Pienaar, Doctor Khumalo, Itumeleng Khune. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.

How were these 33 South Africa players chosen?

The pool covers every position across South Africa's football history. Ratings weigh peak level, longevity, honours and historical standing, then the full methodology page explains the tiers. Fan votes in the duels build a second, independent ranking.

Which South Africa players reach the Immortal tier or higher?

None yet. Benni McCarthy leads the South Africa pool at 88, in the Legend tier.

Can I build and share my own South Africa all-time XI?

Yes. Pick one of eight formations, drag any of the 33 onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.