By Kopano Dibakwane
Bafana Bafana was unceremoniously booted out with a 2-1 defeat in the last-16 knockout stages of the fiercely contested AFCON(Africa Cup of Nations) tournament by Cameroon on Sunday evening of 4 January 2025 in Morocco.
The unfortunate fate that befell Bafana Bafana was widely expected by most soccer fans following the friction that ensued between coach Hugo Broos and former Orlando Pirates star defender, Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
The tension was visible in the Bafana squad during the group stage games as they displayed an uninspired performance against Zimbabwe, Angola and Egypt.
Bafana missed three clear-cut early chances by Relebohile Mofokeng, Lyle Foster and Samkelo Kabini, who each saw their goal attempts flying over the goal post.
Cameroon’s defence was visibly shaken by the forward-pressing Bafana in the first half, but kept their ducks in a row while rising above their defensive blunders and defended their goalkeeper relentlessly.
Junior Tchamadeu took advantage of a defensive error by Bafana defence and scored the first goal for Cameroon in the 34th minute. The follow up goal for the Indomitable Lions came from Christian Kofane in the 47th minute of second half.
Coach Broos was forced to introduce fresh legs such as Evidence Makgopa, Aubrey Modiba, Tshepang Moremi and Sipho Mbule, pulling out key players such as Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis. Makgopa scored the consolation goal for Bafana in the 88th but his effort proved unworthy to undo the pending defeat.
Bafana will put the disastrous AFCON tournament behind them as they prepare to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup scheduled to commence from 11 June to 19 July jn the USA(United States of America).
