South Africa’s head coach Hugo Broos shakes hands with his midfielder Mohau Nkota after the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group B football match against Zimbabwe at Marrakesh Stadium in Marrakesh on December 29, 2025. Picture: Khaled Desouki/AFP Bafana Bafanaare taking onCameroonin the Round of 16 at theAfrica Cup of Nations(Afcon) on Sunday, and there’s probably never been a better time for South Africa to take on one of the heavyweights of African football. Cameroon are five-time Afcon champions, having lifted the title in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and most recently 2017.
However, their five Afcon titles to the one of South Africa will mean little when the sides clash at Agdal Medina Stadium, in Rabat, in a couple of days’ time. Bafana are undeniably a team on the rise underHugo Broos. Since the Belgian took over the reins in 2021, this Bafana side has shown steady improvement.
In the previous Afcon, Bafana were one of the standout teams of the competition as they went on to claim third place at the African showpiece. Cameroon have also not qualified for the 2026Fifa World Cup, while South Africa achieved the feat for the first time since the 2002 edition (Bafana qualified automatically as hosts in 2010). Bafana’s consistent performances under Broos have closed the gap on Cameroon in the Fifa World rankings.
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Cameroon are 57th in the world and 10th in Africa, while Bafana are 61st globally and 11th on the continent. Therefore, it seems the ‘mighty’ Cameroon may just be no match for Bafana. 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.
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