The real Afcon starts now for Bafana Bafana as they face stern Cameroon test

Bafana Bafana’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) journey has been a bumpy one to date. Nevertheless, the South Africans have managed to successfully navigate to the round of 16 after finishing second behind group winners Egypt.

Their group stage campaign consisted of two scrappy victories over Angola (2-1) and Zimbabwe (3-2). They were controversially vanquished 1-0 by Egypt, with the match being decided by a couple of questionable refereeing decisions.

Now coach Hugo Broos and his men face their most daunting challenge to date – a battle against five-time African champions Cameroon on Sunday night. The Indomitable Lions narrowly finished second behind Ivory Coast in Group F.

Both teams ended the group phase on seven points, as well as with identical head-to-head and goal difference records. It came down to Ivory Coast scoring more goals overall, so the reigning Afcon champions finished first in the mini-league.

Based on this, Bafana Bafana will be the underdogs against Cameroon. Broos’ team will have to play the best match they have played so far at the Morocco-hosted 2025 Afcon in order to qualify for the quarterfinals, where one of either Morocco or Tanzania awaits.

Improve the defence

An aspect of Bafana Bafana’s play that they will need to improve significantly to stand a chance of further progression at this edition of Afcon is their defence, as frustrated Bafana Bafana boss Broos pointed out in his post-match conference following the victory over Zimbabwe.

“If we go on defending like this, we will concede goals in every game. That has to stop,” said Broos. “Attacking is important. But there is also defending, good defending. This has become a problem for us. In the coming days we will need to work on that. We need to put it right, so that we can keep clean sheets again.”

The former defender’s observations were echoed by influential midfielder Teboho Mokoena. The Mamelodi Sundowns midfield maestro is one of a number of Bafana Bafana players who have yet to settle into a rhythm in Morocco. The 28-year-old believes South Africa can finally shift into top gear at Afcon 2025 – and they have to if they hope to extend their North African adventure.

“We’re happy as a team to go to the next round. The real tournament starts now,” Mokoena said, as quoted by iDiski Times. “We have to improve. We have conceded so many goals already. We need to improve on that. At least we’re scoring, so that’s good.

“When we’re in control we play so much better. When we play too many long balls, it’s not our game. We need to also improve on that moving forward into the knockout stage.”

Indeed, despite scoring five group-stage goals from their three matches, South Africa’s defence has been porous. They have conceded four times, double the number of goals they had let in during the same period at the 2023 Afcon in Ivory Coast.

Consistency is key

In addition to this leaky defence, there has been no consistency and fluidity to Bafana Bafana’s overall displays. The roller-coaster nature of the match against Zimbabwe is evidence enough of this disjointed play by the South Africans.

Against Cameroon, they may not be so fortunate to survive an average overall display. Nevertheless, the Indomitable Lions have stressed that they will not underestimate the 2023 Afcon bronze medallists.

“We know that the South African team is a strong and stubborn opponent. They have a well-known league and players who have known each other for a long time. So, the match will be complicated. They are a good and cohesive group,” said Cameroon coach David Pagou.

“We will play to our strengths, and we will try to make the match difficult for them. The goal is to be present and deliver a good performance,” he added.

A reunion

The magnitude of the occasion, as well as the do-or-die nature of the game, should be enough motivation for the South Africans to pull up their socks and deliver a memorable performance. Anything below their best will see them head home early, unless the Cameroonians are also absent on the day.

For Broos the match will be extra special as he won his sole Afcon trophy while coaching Cameroon in 2017. Since then, they have not been able to reach another Afcon final. Bafana Bafana’s Belgian mentor will want to ensure this streak continues by engineering their exit in Morocco.

The clash between the two nations takes place on Sunday, 4 January. Kick-off is at 9pm South African time. DM