Bafana Bafana will discover their Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 opponent just before New Year’s celebrations, having advanced from Group B, and could face Ivory Coast, Cameroon, or Mozambique in Morocco. Picture: BackpagePix Just a matter of hours before 2026 dawns,Bafana Bafanawill find out who their opponents will be in theAfrica Cup of Nations(Afcon) Round of 16 this weekend. Bafana finished second in Group B, behind Egypt, to advance to the knockout stages of the continental showpiece.
With the tournament being held in Morocco, it’s unlikelyBafanawill do much celebrating on New Year’s Eve, but that may also be because they might find themselves facing some stern opposition in the next round. With Group F tightly contested, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, or Mozambique could still finish second and end up playingBafanain the next round. Ivory Coast and Cameroon are tied at the top on four points, with Mozambique in third on three points.
On Wednesday evening, Gabon, who have lost both their matches so far, will take on Ivory Coast, while Mozambique play Cameroon. Both matches start at 9pm, and will finish around 11pm. That means Bafana will only find out their opponents an hour before the New Year celebrations begin in earnest.
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During Bafana’s group campaign, the most telling clash was their performance against Egypt, which they lost 1-0 on Boxing Day. Though Egypt were dominant in the first half and were rewarded with a controversial but correctly awarded penalty, whichLiverpoollegendMohamed Salahslotted home to bag the 1-0 victory, it was an impressive display from Bafana. As Egypt were reduced to 10 men for the second half, Bafana looked like a threat until the final whistle.
This against one of the tournament favourites spoke volumes. In fact, it was quite revealing that Egypt, for all their class and attacking intent, were unable to score in open play in that first stanza.
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