28 January 2025 – Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says he is satisfied with the outcome of the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw after the groups were unveiled in Morocco on Monday night.
The South African senior men’s national team was placed in Group B at the draw held in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday and Broos’ charges will face Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe.
“So, in general, I think we can be satisfied. It is not a very easy group. On the other hand, I think we have a great opportunity to qualify for the next round of the AFCON. And then as you know, in the AFCON, after the group stages, anything is possible. So, we will do everything to do better than the last AFCON (Bafana Bafana finished the tournament held in Côte d’Ivoire
with a bronze medal),” he said.
The Bafana Bafana coach said, on paper at least, Egypt could be the biggest threat in Group B.
“When I look at our opponents for AFCON, I think that Egypt is the favourite to win the group. They didn’t do very well at the last AFCON, they didn’t perform like everybody expected and they were very soon out of the tournament. But I think in the last year and a half they have built a very good team. They did very well in the qualifiers, so they will be the team to beat for first place,” the Bafana Bafana coach continued.
“Then we have Zimbabwe again. This is the fourth time that we play against Zimbabwe. We played against Zimbabwe in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, we played against Zimbabwe for the qualification of the last AFCON, but they were suspended, so there was no game between them and us.
“We are playing against Zimbabwe in the qualifiers for the next World Cup. We have them again now in the next AFCON. Zimbabwe is a neighbour of South Africa and it’s always a very difficult game for us. On the other hand, in all the games we played already against Zimbabwe, we played one draw, and we won three times.
“So, winning against Zimbabwe is very possible in the AFCON. And then we have Angola. Angola is for me a team I don’t know really very well. So, it will be very important to do a good analysis of our opponent Angola, and to be well prepared to play that game.”
The AFCON bronze medalists qualified for the 2025 tournament after finishing Group K undefeated and perched at the summit last year, with many observers insisting that they have become one of the toughest and most difficult teams to play against on the continent.
Bafana Bafana will resume their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at home to Lesotho and away to Benin in March 2025.
South African Football: Bafana Bafana has experienced both highs and lows in their journey, often reflecting the nation’s socio-political changes.
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