FIFA has stripped South Africa of points in the World Cup qualifiers: who now leads the group.

Points lost due to an ineligible player

According to The Sun: The South African national team has been stripped of three points due to fielding an ineligible player during the World Cup qualifiers.

South Africa lost three points due to an ineligible player during the World Cup qualifiers REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

This situation caused Hugo Bruce's team to drop to second place in their group.

South Africa played with Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in March REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Consequences and changes in the table

Bafana Bafana used midfielder Teboho Mokoena during their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in March, even though he was already under suspension due to receiving a second yellow card.

Now the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has confirmed that the match result has been changed to 3-0 in favor of Lesotho in accordance with competition rules.

The South African national team was in first place in their group, having three points ahead of Benin and another three ahead of Nigeria, with two matches remaining next month.

However, the change in the match result affected their statistics, reducing their overall score by five.

This allowed Benin to move to first place due to goal difference, even though they still needed to play two away matches — in Rwanda and Nigeria.

Group situation and England's plans

The group winners will qualify for the finals, while the four best runners-up will compete in November for the right to participate in intercontinental playoffs in March.

Meanwhile, the England national team will play their next match on October 9, when they face Wales in a friendly at Wembley Stadium.

After that, Thomas Tuchel's team will head to Latvia on October 14 for a World Cup qualifying match.

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England currently leads Group K, having won all five of their qualifying matches. If the team secures a victory in Riga, it will confirm their participation in the 2026 World Cup.