Disappointed Bafana suffer defeat to Egypt in dramatic AFCON group match – South African Football Association

26 December 2025 – Bafana Bafana suffered a 0-1 defeat to Egypt in an incident-riddled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Group B match that had no shortage of drama.

Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in the 45th minute to win the game for the North Africans. Drama unfolded just before the half-time break when referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana stopped play to consult the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) on an incident that had happened earlier. He eventually pointed to the spot and awarded the penalty. Salah then converted the kick and put the Egyptians in the lead.

But the drama was not over in the first half as Mohamed Hany was sent off in the final minutes of the opening period after picking up a second yellow card of the match following a tackle on Tebogo Mokoena.

The South Africans put the Egyptians under an enormous amount of pressure in the second half as they tried to make their numerical advantage count. The North Africans withstood a barrage of attacks from coach Hugo Broos’ charges as they went in search of the equaliser. Bafana Bafana thought they had finally found a breakthrough when Ndabihawenimana once again stopped play to consult VAR after defender Yasser Ibrahim appeared to have handled the ball inside the area.

The match official eventually did not give the penalty, to the dismay of the South Africans. The 10-man Egypt, who have qualified for the knockout stages following their win, managed to hold on to win this match.

“OK, they were one man less, but we dominated them for 45 minutes (in the second half). In that moment, you need a little bit luck with the ball falling (favourably) or that the shot is good. We didn’t have that luck,” Broos said. “Okay, we lost the game today, but there is still another game and after what happened here today on the pitch, certainly the decisions that were made will motivate us to give 200% to win the game against Zimbabwe on Monday.”

Bafana Bafana return to action on Monday, 29 December 2025 in a match they must win to book their place in the Last 16 stage of the tournament.

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