Hugo Broos and Bafana Bafana suffered from imposter syndrome at Afcon 2025

On Sunday, 4 January, Bafana Bafana were beaten 2-1 by Cameroon in the Round of 16 match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco. The South Africans were a shadow of the team that surprised many detractors by finishing third in the 2023 Afcon.

The difference? Well, several factors, the most glaring of which is that the Hugo Broos-coached team appeared intent on preserving their status as Afcon bronze medallists, rather than pushing for an improved finish. It’s as if they felt they did not belong on the biggest stage of African soccer, that they were imposters.

Victims of their own success

When South Africa embarked on that memorable run during the Ivory Coast-hosted 2023 Afcon no one would have bet on the team making it that far. Before that edition, Bafana Bafana had failed to qualify for four of the previous 10 Afcons. Even when they did qualify, they were fortunate to even make it out of the group stage.

They missed out on the 2021 Afcon, which prompted the South African Football Association (Safa) to recruit Broos after firing Molefi Ntseki. The Belgian, 69 years old at the time of his hiring, was experienced on the continent. He had guided Cameroon to Afcon success in 2017, and Safa hoped he could do the same for South Africa.

He came close at the first time of asking, claiming the bronze medal two years ago. However, at the 2025 edition, the Belgian and his team regressed from that milestone performance. They were cagey, seemingly afraid to make costly mistakes — but in the process, that’s exactly what they did.

By not playing the free-flowing soccer that had brought them success at the 2023 tournament, they showed too much respect to their opponents.

Change of approach

Ironically, their opponents afforded the team a similar courtesy, but the difference is that Egypt, Angola, Zimbabwe and Cameroon did not compromise their identities.

Broos and his technical team were intent on altering their style and did not play with the same freedom, flair and bravery that was on display in Ivory Coast.

Instead, the focus was on defence. Against Cameroon, Broos began with an ultra-defensive lineup, which included three centre-backs and two conservative midfielders, Bathusi Aubaas and Teboho Mokoena.

This defensive approach often placed pressure on the attackers to take their chances when they occurred. But they did not always do this, which put pressure on the team.

A case in point was the first 15 minutes during Bafana Bafana’s clash with Cameroon. The team had chances to take the lead, but inefficiency in front of goal proved costly as the Indomitable Lions capitalised on their opportunities to punish Broos’s men.

Defensive Broos

Despite this disappointing tournament, which featured some of the most frustrating matches Bafana Bafana have played under the Belgian tactician, Broos denied that the team was backsliding.

“No, we’re not going backwards. I agree that maybe in some games the performances were not at the level of the South Africa everybody has come to know [after I took over]. But sometimes you also need a little bit of luck,” said Broos.

“I also agree that we conceded too many goals. At the last Afcon, we only conceded three times throughout the whole tournament. But we are not going backwards, definitely not. On the other hand, we have to make a good evaluation of what happened in this tournament — looking forward to the World Cup,” added the 73-year-old.

“We still have to evaluate what the problems were and what the good things were, so that we are ready to play our pre-World Cup friendlies in March.

“The bad things we will try to make better. I don’t want to make any declarations now, because when you’re eliminated from Afcon, you are frustrated and sad. And sometimes you say things that you regret afterwards. So, I will not do that.”

As well as being overly conservative tactically, Bafana Bafana clearly missed the creative influence of Themba Zwane. Broos opted to leave the Mamelodi Sundowns man at home due to fitness concerns, with the playmaker returning from an injury lay-off just before the start of Afcon.

Someone with his tactical acumen, leadership qualities and experience would have been useful for Bafana Bafana in Morocco.

The next big assignment for Bafana Bafana is the Fifa World Cup in June — their first appearance in the tournament for 16 years. A different tactical approach will be key if South Africa are to reach the knockout stages for the time ever. DM