South Africa’s midfielder Oswin Appollis celebrates scoring the team’s third goal from a penalty during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group B football match between Zimbabwe and South Africa at Marrakesh Stadium in Marrakesh on December 29, 2025. Picture: Khaled Desouki/AFP Before theAfrica Cup of Nations(Afcon) began,Bafana Bafanawere considered one of the dark horses, but after South Africa completed their Group B campaign on Monday? The short answer is yes; however, it’s a little more nuanced than that.
Bafana, as expected, collected victories over Angola and Zimbabwe to finish second behind Egypt. Though it was something of a rollercoaster affair against Zimbabwe at Stade de Marrakech, as Bafana twice took the lead only to see Zimbabwe equalise. The winning goal for Bafana only came eight minutes from time asOswin Appollisconverted from the spot to seal the3-2 win.
The most telling clash of Bafana’s group campaign 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.
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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. It showed that Bafana, underHugo Broos, are able to compete tactically with the very best on the continent despite a lack of superstars on their team sheet.
It all bodes well for the knockout stages, and with Bafana playing their Round of 16 knockout match on Sunday, they remain a good bet to pull off a surprise at this Afcon, much like they did in the previous edition. * The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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