BY JOHN GOLIATH
WHILE Bafana Bafana’s group will have a distinct Southern African feel, they will come up against the giants of African football Egypt and their Liverpool yster Mohamed Salah at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco.
Bafana, who entered the draw in Pot 2, were also drawn with neighbours Zimbabwe and Angola in Monday evening’s draw in Rabat.
They will certainly fancy their chances against their Southern African neighbours, before going up against the Egyptians for the right to possibly top the group.
It’s not an impossible task, as Bafana beat hosts Egypt 1-0 in the 2019 Afcon quarter-finals thanks to a goal by Thembinkosi Lorch.
Later that year, South Africa also beat Egypt 1-0 in Egypt in a 2021 Afcon qualifier.
Coach Hugo Broos’ span finished the 2023 Afcon in the Ivory Coast in third place after beating DR Congo 6-5 on penalties after the match ended goalless. The victory over DR Congo also ensured that SA earned the bronze medal for the first time since 2000.
Bafana went through their 2025 qualifying campaign unbeaten, topping their group with 14 points from six matches, scoring 16 goals and conceding just five. This will give them a lot of confidence heading into the tournament, which will be played between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.
Meanwhile, Broos says of their group: “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...
“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…”
Draw for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco
Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Botswana
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique