Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos and defender Nkosinathi Sibisi. Photo: South African Football Association
As the sun sets over the Stade de Marrakech on Monday, the air will be thick with more than just the Moroccan winter chill.
For South Africa and Zimbabwe, the final Group B fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is not merely a football match; it is a ‘Game of Consequence’ that will determine their fate in the continental tournament.
Following a dramatic series of results in Agadir and Marrakesh, the equation has been stripped to its barest essentials.
For Hugo Broos’s South Africa, a single point will suffice to secure a path to the round of 16. For Marian Marinică’s Zimbabwe, nothing short of a victory will do to keep their dreams of knockout football alive.
The state of play: Group B permutations
After two rounds of gruelling action, Group B has lived up to its reputation as one of the tournament’s most competitive brackets. Egypt, led by the clinical Mohamed Salah, has already secured the top spot with six points and a +2 goal difference following a contentious 1-0 victory over South Africa.
The current standings vividly illustrate the razor-thin margins in African continental football.
South Africa currently occupies second place with three points and a neutral goal difference, while the chasing pack remains within striking distance; Angola sits in third and Zimbabwe in fourth, both tied with a single point and a -1-goal difference, leaving the final qualification spots to be decided in the ultimate group showdown.
How Bafana Bafana advances
South Africa holds the keys to its own destiny. By virtue of its 2-1 opening-day victory over Angola, it possesses a crucial head-to-head advantage.
- With a win: South Africa moves to six points and finishes second, regardless of other results.
- With a draw: Bafana Bafana will finish on four points. Even if Angola beats Egypt to reach four points, South Africa advances as runners-up because it beat Angola earlier in the group.
- With a loss: This is the nightmare scenario. A defeat would see Zimbabwe leapfrog South Africa. Bafana would then be forced to wait and see if three points are enough to qualify as one of the four best third-placed teams—a mathematical lottery no coach wants to enter.
For Zimbabwe, the path is narrower but clear. A win moves them to four points, putting them above South Africa. If Angola fails to beat Egypt, Zimbabwe takes second place. If both Zimbabwe and Angola win, the two would be tied on four points. Since they drew 1-1 last Friday, the tiebreaker would shift to goal difference and then to total goals scored.
The mood in the South African camp is one of resilient frustration. Their 1-0 loss to Egypt was shrouded in controversy after Mohamed Salah converted a penalty that many, including coach Hugo Broos, felt was soft.
“Salah was surprised to get the penalty,” Broos remarked post-match, reflecting the sentiment of a team that felt they had outplayed the North African giants for significant periods.
Despite the loss, the performance of young defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi was a significant silver lining. Mbokazi, who recently caught the attention of MLS side Chicago Fire, was tasked with neutralising the dual threat of Salah and Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush. His composure has become a rallying point for the squad.
“When I go to the field, I don’t worry about who I am up against,” Mbokazi said. “I learnt a lot from playing against someone with experience like Mo Salah. We must just remain together as a team… we have to win the next game at all costs.”
His sentiment was echoed by Thabang Matuludi, who emphasised the need for mental fortitude: “The mood is down, but we need to motivate each other. It is not over.”
Legend’s perspective: The 1996 blueprint
The current Bafana crop has received a vote of confidence from a man who knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle of African football. Edward ‘Magents’ Motale, the legendary captain who won the 1996 Afcon and the 1995 African Champions League with Orlando Pirates, believes the team is on the right track.
“Bafana played well against Egypt; besides the penalty, they gave a good account of themselves,” Motale told the Mail & Guardian. “If they can take that performance to Zimbabwe, it will be a walkover. They should not beat themselves up about the Egypt defeat.”
Motale highlighted the team’s collective strength as their most significant asset, noting that, unlike previous iterations, this squad does not rely on a single superstar but operates as a cohesive unit.
The narrative of this match is also defined by those who won’t be on the pitch. Zimbabwe is arguably missing its most influential figure, Marshall Munetsi. The Wolves midfielder, a familiar face to South African fans from his time at Orlando Pirates, was left out of the final squad due to injury concerns cited by the Zimbabwe Football Association.
The decision remains a point of contention, as Munetsi publicly stated he would have been fit for the tournament. Without his box-to-box energy, the Warriors’ midfield lacks its usual bite.
South Africa faces its own creative void. Themba Zwane, long the heartbeat of the Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana attack, missed out on the tournament due to persistent injury issues. In his absence, the search for a definitive ‘Number 10’ continues, with Broos employing various tactical shifts to fill the creative gap.