Bafana Bafana will be hoping for a great start at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) when they face Angola in their opening match on Monday night. The match will take place in Marrakech, and kick-off is at 7pm.
A lot will be expected from coach Hugo Broos’ players as they have been touted as one of the favourites to win the tournament, which is hosted by African giants Morocco. Tonight, Broos will be leading the South African senior men’s national soccer team for the 50th time. And after weeks in camp and preparing for the tournament, Bafana will finally get their campaign underway. This will be with all eyes fixed on how the team will perform.
Ready for tough opponent
The South Africans have been in Morocco for a few days now. And they are counting the hours ahead of their opening match. Broos said the team is looking forward to opening their account against Angola.
“We are very happy that we can start this tournament and play our first game tomorrow. We all know that we will face a tough opponent (Angola), but I think that my team is ready,” said Broos.
“It is very important we win that first game. I think you make a big step for qualification for later or to survive the group stages. So again, we will try to win it and to put ourselves in a good position for the second game against Egypt,” he added.
Longest serving coach
Safa (SA Football Association) president Danny Jordaan has congratulated Broos for being Bafana’s longest serving coach. According to Safa, Bafana were ranked 75th when Broos arrived. And they are now in 61st spot, with the top 50 well within sight for some time. The team took the Bronze medal at the last edition of Afcon, which was hosted by Ivory Coast in 2024.
In May, Broos equalled the late Clive Barker’s record of being Bafana’s longest-serving coach as he reached exactly four years at the helm. Barker guided the South African senior men’s national soccer team to their 1996 Afcon triumph. He was in charge from January 1 1994 to January 1 1998. Broos now holds the record of having been in charge for well over four years.
In the other Group B match tonight, Egypt will face Zimbabwe at 10pm
