Cameroon

Goals either side of half-time by Junior Tchamadeu and Christian Kofane took Cameroon through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals at South Africa’s expense, as the Indomitable Lions edged their last-16 clash 2-1.

Tchamadeu opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, and teenage Bayer Leverkusen forward Kofane headed in the crucial second goal two minutes after half-time.

A late rally from South Africa saw Evidence Makgopa pull one back, but it is Cameroon who go through. The five-time champions now play the hosts, Morocco, in a heavyweight quarterfinal on Friday.

They can go into that match in a relaxed mood, knowing all the pressure is on Morocco as they look to win a first AFCON title in 50 years in front of their home support.

For Cameroon, reaching the last eight means their AFCON is already a success after a chaotic buildup in which Samuel Eto’o, the football federation president and Indomitable Lions legend, sacked the coach, Marc Brys, replacing him with David Pagou.

The new coach got the better of South Africa’s Hugo Broos, who had promised to show no mercy to Cameroon, nine years after leading them to their last continental crown at the Cup of Nations in Gabon.

Bafana Bafana, who finished third at the last AFCON two years ago in Ivory Coast, will be hugely disappointed, but they can console themselves by turning their attentions towards the upcoming World Cup.

Yet, South Africa had chances to take an early lead, with Relebohile Mofokeng squandering a golden opportunity inside seven minutes.

Cameroon defender Che Malone failed to deal with a simple ball forward, to leave Mofokeng in on goal, but the Orlando Pirates forward blazed over.

Lyle Foster then had the ball in the net only to be denied by the offside flag, and instead, Cameroon went in front just after the half-hour mark.

When the South African defence could only partially clear a corner, the ball fell to Carlos Baleba on the edge of the area.

He took a touch and tried a shot which was deflected into the path of Tchamadeu, and the London-born full-back with Stoke City rolled home from close range.

That goal – confirmed after a long VAR check – was celebrated by the Cameroonian fans, who made up the majority of the 14,127 crowd, with two-time AFCON winner as a player Eto’o among those in attendance.

South Africa would have hoped for a strong start to the second half, but instead, Cameroon scored again within two minutes of the restart.

Substitute Mahamadou Nagida crossed from the left, and Kofane headed in his second goal of the tournament so far.

Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epassy then made good saves from Samukele Kabini and from a Teboho Mokoena free-kick, before Makgopa turned in a low cross by fellow substitute Aubrey Modiba on 88 minutes.

That set up a grandstand finish, but Cameroon nervously held on.

Morocco see off Tanzania

Earlier on Sunday, Brahim Diaz scored his fourth goal for Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to put the hosts into the quarterfinals with a nervous 1-0 Round-of-16 victory over Tanzania in Rabat.

Morocco dominated possession, but ⁠Tanzania had opportunities too, and it took a fine strike from Diaz to book a ​place in the last eight.

Captain Achraf Hakimi fed Diaz on the right side of the box on 64 minutes, and the Real Madrid playmaker worked his way to the byline before firing into ‍the goal from ⁠a tight angle when most expected a cross.

Morocco wasted several other chances, but were also fortunate that Tanzania were wasteful too, with Simon Msuva and Feisal Salum missing gilt-edged opportunities for the East Africans, with the score at 0-0.

It was far from a vintage performance from the home side, who have yet to click into top gear at the tournament, but they did enough to keep their campaign on track.

“The ​competition is hotting up, and we faced our toughest opponent in ‌this Tanzania team,” Diaz said.

“Not everything worked, we know that, but fortunately, we managed to secure our qualification [to the next round]. Now, we are going back to work to be fully ready for the quarterfinals.”

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the game as South Africa face Cameroon in a last-16 showdown.

Who: South Africa vs Cameroon
What: CAF 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Where: Al Barid Stadium, Rabat, Morocco
When: Sunday, January 4, 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

A crunch encounter awaits in arguably the tie of the round in the last 16 at the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) between South Africa and Cameroon.

The showdown at the compact Al Medina Stadium in Rabat has the makings of a fascinating contest between a Bafana Bafana side building towards the World Cup and a Cameroon team that entered the AFCON in disarray.

Cameroonian football federation president and Indomitable Lions legend Samuel Eto’o sacked national team coach Marc Brys just weeks before the competition started, replacing him with David Pagou.

His opposite number on Sunday, Hugo Broos, led Cameroon to an unlikely 2017 AFCON title

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the mouth-watering match-up.

How did South Africa reach the 2025 AFCON last 16?

South Africa’s 2-1 victory against near neighbours Angola was the first time they opened an AFCON with a win in 21 years.

Oswin Appollis had given South Africa the lead, but Show had Angola level by the break, before Lyle Foster netted the winner from outside the box.

Mohamed Salah led 10-man Egypt to a 1-0 win against South Africa in the second group stage match, and in doing so, he secured the Pharaohs’ place in the next round.

The Liverpool player converted a penalty on 45 minutes, but South Africa were denied a spot kick late in the second half, when Yasser Ibrahim appeared to handle the ball inside the box.

The crunch game came against another neighbouring country for Bafana Bafana as Appollis scored a penalty in the ‍final ‍10 minutes to hand South Africa a 3-2 victory over Zimbabwe.

South Africa finished with six points in the group, one behind ‍winners Egypt. ⁠

How did Cameroon reach the 2025 AFCON last 16?

Cameroon opened with a 1-0 win against Gabon as Karl Etta Eyong, assisted by Bryan Mbeumo, settled the game with his sixth-minute strike.

A point was rescued against defending champions Ivory Coast in their second match after Amad Diallo gave the Ivorians the lead in the 51st minute, only for Ghislain Konan to put through his own net five minutes later – Konan had laid on the assist for Diallo only moments earlier.

Cameroon again had to come from behind in their final group stage match against Mozambique, with a thunderbolt from Christian Kofane delivering a 2-1 victory.

Ivory Coast and Cameroon finished level on seven points, and both had a plus-two goal difference. The Ivorians topped the table because they scored five goals to Cameroon’s four.

Who will South Africa or Sudan face in the AFCON 2025 quarterfinals?

The winner will face the victor of the match between the hosts, Morocco, and Tanzania in Rabat on January 9.

Who are South Africa’s key players?

Foster is the main man for Bafana Bafana, and has already netted one crucial goal with his late winner in his side’s opening match against Angola.

Sipho Mbule has been given a role of greater-than-expected responsibility at the tournament, starting high up the park, along with Foster, in an attack-minded setup.

At the other end of the pitch, Ronwen Williams remains a pillar of strength in South Africa’s goal.

Who are Cameroon’s key players?

With seven goals across all competitions, Bryan Mbeumo headed into the tournament as Manchester United’s standout performer in an otherwise mixed and chaotic season for the Red Devils.

An injury kept Mbeumo out of the previous AFCON, but this time, the 26-year-old has a golden opportunity to clinch his first trophy with Cameroon.

Carlos Baleba arrived at AFCON without any major-tournament experience, but the 21-year-old has already produced performances that belie his age.

Have South Africa ever won an AFCON?

South Africa have won the tournament only once, when they were the hosts in 1996. Bafana Bafana were also finalists in 1998, while they were the bronze medallists at the last AFCON.

Have Cameroon ever won an AFCON?

Cameroon lifted two out of three AFCONs between 1982-1986, beating Nigeria in both finals. The 1984 title went to Egypt, with the Indomitable Lions the defeated finalists.

Back-to-back titles were secured in 2000 and 2002, while a further defeat to Egypt came in the 2008 final, before Cameroon lifted their fifth and last title in 2017.

When did South Africa and Cameroon last meet?

The last encounter between the sides ended in a 0-0 draw in a qualifier for the 2016 ACFON.

The match was played in South Africa, while the reverse qualifier in Cameroon ended in a 2-2 draw.

The sides have drawn their last three encounters.

Have South Africa and Cameroon ever played at an AFCON finals before?

The only meeting between the teams at an AFCON event was in the 1996 edition, hosted and won by South Africa.

Bafana Bafana, making their debut at the tournament, were 3-0 winners in the group stage encounter, which was also the opening game of that edition.

When did South Africa first meet Cameroon?

The first match between the sides was of particular note, given it was South Africa’s first match after apartheid ended.

Bafana Bafana claimed a 1-0 win in the match on July 7, 1992, which was played in Durban.

It was the first of a three-game series between the sides, which saw South Africa claim two wins to Cameroon’s one.

Head-to-head

This is the 10th meeting with the draw being the overall winner in previous encounters, accounting for five of the results between the African giants.

Bafana Bafana have claimed victory on three occasions, however, leading Cameroon with just one win in matches between the sides.

South Africa team news

Broos confirmed that Sphephelo Sithole’s omission against Zimbabwe was a tactical decision and not injury-related.

Relebohile Mofokeng and Bathusi Aubaas are both battling for a place.

South Africa predicted starting lineup

Williams, Mudau, Modiba, Mbokazi, Ngezana, Mokoena, Aubaas, Mbule, Mofokeng, Appollis, Foster

Cameroon team news

Captain Nouhou Tolo was forced off with a hamstring injury against Mozambique. He was replaced in defence by Christopher Wooh, who will be on standby once more, should Tolo fail to recover.

Mbeumo and Baleba were both removed at half-time in that game so as to avoid bookings that would have led to suspensions for this match.

Cameroon predicted starting lineup

Epassy, Tolo, Kotto, Malone, Yongwa, Baleba, Namaso, Tchamadeu, Ebong, Mbeumo, Kofane

Hugo Broos lead Cameroon to the 2017 AFCON title but will have be no room for sentimentality with his South Africa side.

South Africa coach Hugo Broos has promised to show “no mercy” to Cameroon when he comes up against his former side in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.

Broos will lead Bafana Bafana out at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat against the nation he led to an unexpected AFCON triumph in Gabon in 2017.

“Tomorrow’s game is surely a special game for me. If you win an AFCON with a country, then a part of them stays in your heart, but tomorrow I can’t have mercy for them because I am the coach of South Africa now and I want to win the game,” Belgian Broos told reporters Saturday in the Moroccan capital.

“They are a very good team, a young team, and they have a good fighting spirit and mentality, which means if we want to beat them, we will have to be at our best.”

Cameroon took seven points from a possible nine in the group stage in Morocco despite a chaotic build-up to the tournament.

Coach Marc Brys was sacked by football federation president and Indomitable Lions legend Samuel Eto’o only a few weeks before their opening game, with David Pagou appointed as his replacement.

“I would have preferred to face Cameroon in the final – maybe now is a little too soon,” Broos said.

“I was curious to see Cameroon with all the changes in their team, and I have been surprised. They did not have much preparation time, but the coach has done a good job, and for us it will be a difficult match.”

He added, “No mercy tomorrow! You can be sure. I have to win that game, that is all that counts.”

South Africa upset with Morocco AFCON setup before Cameroon test

Meanwhile, the 73-year-old expressed anger at tournament organisers for forcing his side to train at the Moroccan national team’s facility, a 45-minute drive away from their hotel in Rabat.

Whoever wins on Sunday will face Morocco in the quarterfinals, should the hosts see off outsiders Tanzania in their last-16 tie.

“I don’t understand why CAF [the Confederation of African Football] allowed that. I have to say that because it makes me unhappy,” Broos complained.

Bafana Bafana, who have qualified for this year’s World Cup, are hoping to at least match their run to the semifinals at the last Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast in 2024.

But their coach admits that could be a tall order given the depth of quality left in the competition.

“It was the ambition when we came here to do at least as well as two years ago, but I said this tournament would be much more difficult.

“At the last AFCON, a lot of big teams were knocked out early, but this time they are all here, which means to get to the final, even the semifinals, it will be much more difficult, but our ambition remains intact.”

Ivorians to face Burkina Faso in last 16 while Cameroon meet South Africa and Mozambique play Nigeria.

Substitute Bazoumana Toure scored in stoppage time for Ivory Coast, who came from two goals down to beat Gabon 3-2 in Marrakesh and top Group F at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Cameroon also fell behind on Wednesday, against Mozambique in Agadir, but a thunderbolt from Christian Kofane delivered a 2-1 victory.

Defending champions Ivory Coast and Cameroon finished level on seven points, and both had a plus-two goal difference. The Ivorians topped the table because they scored five goals and Cameroon four.

The results completed the last 16 lineup. Ivory Coast will face Burkina Faso, Cameroon meet South Africa and Mozambique face Nigeria.

In Marrakesh, Gabon rocked Ivory Coast by building a two-goal lead midway through the first half before the title-holders cut the deficit just before the break to trail 2-1 at half-time.

Guelor Kanga struck after 11 minutes for the Gabonese Panthers, whose best-known footballer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, had returned to France for treatment of a thigh injury.

The 2015 African player of the year scored in a 3-2 loss to Mozambique three days ago that eliminated Gabon from the race to be among the 16 qualifiers for the knockout stage.

Ivory Coast fell further behind on 21 minutes when Los Angeles-based Denis Bouanga claimed his first goal of the tournament.

Ivorian Jean-Philippe Krasso netted on 44 minutes after being set up by Wilfried Zaha, the former Crystal Palace winger recalled for the AFCON after missing the triumphant 2024 campaign.

The defending champions took off captain Franck Kessie and Zaha halfway through the second half, but Amad Diallo, who scored in the first two group matches, remained on the bench.

Manchester United winger Diallo was finally introduced on 76 minutes, replacing Oumar Diakite, who was walking a disciplinary tightrope having been yellow-carded.

It was another substitute, Evann Guessand, who equalised with six minutes of regular time left. The Aston Villa striker was a late inclusion in the squad when injured Sebastien Haller withdrew.

In the southern coastal city of Agadir, Cameroon legends Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o were among the crowd that saw Mozambique take a surprise lead on 23 minutes.

Geny Catamo from leading Portuguese club Sporting unleashed a low shot that bounced in front of goalkeeper Devis Epassy and flew just inside the left post.

The lead lasted five minutes before five-time champions Cameroon levelled when Feliciano ‘Nene’ Jone conceded an own goal.

Facing two unmarked Cameroonian attackers, goalkeeper Ivane Urrubal blocked the ball, which ran loose to Frank Magri.

Magri hit the post and Nene, attempting to clear, managed only to steer the ball into the Mozambican net.

Cameroon had the ball in the net again 10 minutes later, but the scorer, Germany-based 19-year-old Christian Kofane, was ruled offside.

The teen made up for his disappointment by putting the Indomitable Lions ahead on 55 minutes with a fierce shot from outside the box that flew into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

Elsewhere in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, Cameroon and Ivory coast draw 1-1, while Sudan see off Equatorial Guinea.

Mozambique have claimed a historic first victory in the Africa Cup of Nations, breathing new life into their campaign after overcoming Gabon 3-2 in Agadir, while Algeria have booked their place in the last 16 of AFCON with a narrow win over Burkina Faso.

Beaten in their tournament curtain-raiser by Ivory Coast, Mozambique scored twice before half-time in their Group F game on Sunday as Faizal Bangal headed home and Geny Catamo netted from the penalty spot.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back for Gabon before the break, but Diogo Calila restored Mozambique’s two-goal cushion. It was ultimately enough to seal a maiden win for Mozambique in this tournament at the 17th attempt, despite Gabon’s Alex Moucketou-Moussounda pulling one back.

Elsewhere in the group, defending champions Ivory Coast ‍took ‍a lead that lasted only five minutes before Cameroon equalised to secure a 1-1 ⁠draw in their heavyweight clash on Sunday.

Amad Diallo scored for a second successive game to ‍open ⁠the scoring for the Ivorians in the 51st minute, but full-back Junior Tchamadeu levelled for Cameroon with the help of a deflection ​in the 56th ‌minute at Marrakesh Stadium.

Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, who have eight AFCON titles ‌between them, now share the lead in ‌Group F with ⁠four points apiece, followed by Mozambique on three.

Gabon need to win their final group game to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams.

Algeria have secured their place in the last 16, after a Riyad Mahrez penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso.

Captain Mahrez converted from the spot midway through the first half at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, and Algeria then held on to win a bruising contest against a determined Burkina outfit.

The penalty that decided the game was awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri was bundled over.

Mahrez made no mistake with his 23rd-minute kick as he followed his brace in the opening 3-0 defeat of Sudan to take his tally at this Cup of Nations to three goals. The former Leicester City and Manchester City winger, appearing at his sixth AFCON, now has nine goals at the tournament, an Algerian record.

Pierre Landry Kabore, the Hearts’ striker, came close to equalising for Burkina Faso with a header from a corner, before Mahrez teed up Mohamed Amoura for a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Herve Koffi at the end of an Algerian breakaway in the first half of stoppage time.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza twice failed to convert good opportunities in the second half, while substitute Georgi Minoungou fired just over as Burkina Faso pushed unsuccessfully for an equaliser.

Algeria, African champions in 1990 and in 2019, have the maximum six points after two games in Group E and are yet to concede a goal, with Vladimir Petkovic’s side living up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

Burkina Faso and Sudan come next on three points each, but they play each other in the final round of group games on Wednesday. This means Algeria are guaranteed a top-two finish even if they lose their final outing against the currently pointless Equatorial Guinea.

Sudan boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday after a Saul Coco own goal gave them a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea.

Unlucky Torino centre-back Coco saw the ball come off him and ricochet into the net in the 74th minute in Casablanca when his teammate Luis Asue attempted to clear a Sudan free kick.

Sudan won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1970, but this is just their second victory in 18 matches across six appearances at the tournament since then.