Bafana Bafana reach AFCON Last 16
South Africa secured their place in the AFCON 2025 last 16 with a hard-fought 3–2 win over Zimbabwe on Monday, December 29, 2025.
The Group B match was played at the Grand Stade de Marrakech in Morocco, with kick-off at 5:00 pm local time. and proved to be a tense and open contest, with both sides trading goals.
Bafana Bafana got off to a good start when Tshepang Moremi opened the scoring. Zimbabwe responded, but South Africa regained control before halftime through Lyle Foster, who headed his side back in front.
The second half was tight, with Zimbabwe pushing for an equaliser. An own goal briefly added to the pressure, but South Africa were given a lifeline when Elias Appollis calmly converted a penalty to seal the win.
The result took South Africa to six points, enough to finish second in Group B behind Egypt and move into the knockout stage. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, was eliminated from the tournament.
Bafana Bafana will now turn their attention to the knockout round, where they are set to face a tough opponent from Group F, with teams like Cameroon or Ivory Coast potentially waiting.
