CAPE TOWN – Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign came to a heartbreaking end after they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Cameroon in a tense and hard-fought knockout encounter, where moments of promise and resilience ultimately fell short against a clinical Indomitable Lions side.
Goals from defender Junior Tchamadeu in the 34th minute and Christian Kofane early in the second half gave Cameroon a commanding advantage, before Evidence Makgopa pulled one back in the 88th minute for South Africa.
Makgopa’s goal proved too late as Bafana Bafana bowed out of the tournament with a 2-1 defeat in their Last 16 clash at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday.
It ends with defeat for Bafana Bafana. We fought hard but it was not to be pic.twitter.com/CmDO8PlZ8S
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) January 4, 2026
“We are very disappointed and sad that we have been eliminated. I think we had the right plan and everybody saw that, especially in the first half,” said head coach Hugo Broos.
“We had three good chances in the first half, and the game could have been (over) then.”
