<P> The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals . The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month . The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final . </P> <P> South Africa have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on three occasions in 1998, 2002, and 2010 . </P> <P> Although South Africa has made three appearances in the World Cup, they have not made it past the first round . The team's first attempt to qualify as for the 1994 FIFA World Cup . The team finished second in their group, behind Nigeria, who went on to play at the World Cup . Their first appearance was in France 1998, six years after they had been readmitted to the global football family . Despite a 3--0 drubbing to France in their opening game, they went on to draw against Denmark and Saudi Arabia, the team finished third and thus exited the tournament . Korea / Japan 2002 was expected to be an opportunity for Bafana Bafana to step up to the next level but they were eliminated at the group stage despite drawing to Paraguay and beating Slovenia 1--0 for their first - ever World Cup win . The team finished third in their group, losing out to Paraguay on goals scored . The team failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup after finishing third in their qualifying group . Ghana won the group and progressed to the tournament, while Congo DR finished ahead of South Africa on head to head results . During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, they beat France 2--1 and drew 1--1 to Mexico, but lost 0--3 to Uruguay . They lost out on progression to the round of 16, on goal difference . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="9"> FIFA World Cup record </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Round </Th> <Th> Position </Th> <Th> Pld </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> GF </Th> <Th> GA </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1930 to 1962 </Td> <Td_colspan="8"> Did not enter </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1966 </Td> <Td_colspan="8"> Not admitted </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1970 to </Td> <Td_colspan="8"> Banned </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="8"> Did not qualify </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1998 </Td> <Td> Group stage </Td> <Td> 24th </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 0 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2002 </Td> <Td> Group stage </Td> <Td> 17th </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> 5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2006 </Td> <Td_colspan="8"> Did not qualify </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Group stage </Td> <Td> 20th </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2014 </Td> <Td_colspan="8"> Did not qualify </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2018 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Total </Td> <Td> Group stage </Td> <Td> 3 / 21 </Td> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 11 </Td> <Td> 16 </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Did south africa ever win the soccer world cup