Broos set for AFCON reunion with Cameroon as South Africa eye quarter-final spot

By : Agency Report

Date: 3 January 2026 9:46am WAT

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Cameroon coach, David Pagou, barks out orders to his players

Cameroon coach, David Pagou, barks out orders to his players

South Africa head coach Hugo Broos is preparing for a reunion with Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last-16 stage, with the Belgian hoping to guide Bafana Bafana closer to continental glory in Morocco. South Africa will face the Indomitable Lions on Sunday at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat, in a knockout encounter that pits a South African side building towards the FIFA World Cup against a Cameroon team that arrived at the tournament amid internal turmoil.

Cameroon entered the competition following a late coaching change, after the country’s football federation president and former international star Samuel Eto’o dismissed head coach Marc Brys just weeks before the tournament. Brys was replaced by David Pagou shortly after overseeing Cameroon’s World Cup play-off defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo at the same Rabat venue.

The loss ended Cameroon’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup, but the team has responded at the AFCON, recording two wins and a draw in the group stage to advance to the knockout rounds.

Broos, a compatriot of Brys, is well aware of Cameroon’s ability to thrive at the AFCON despite off-field instability. In 2017, he led a depleted Cameroon side to the title in Gabon, despite the absence of several key players who declined call-ups. Cameroon went on to defeat Egypt 2-1 in the final to claim a fifth continental crown. “If you told someone before the tournament we would get to the final they would have laughed, but this for us was a big motivation,” Broos said at the time.

Nine years later, the 73-year-old’s focus is on improving South Africa’s showing at the last AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire in 2024, where Bafana Bafana reached the semi-finals and finished third.

Broos has also steered South Africa to qualification for the upcoming World Cup, their first appearance since hosting the tournament in 2010. They topped their qualifying group ahead of Nigeria and are set to face co-hosts Mexico in their opening match on June 11, before also taking on South Korea and a European play-off winner in the group stage.

Before then, however, South Africa must navigate a challenging knockout path at the AFCON. Broos’ campaign has not been without controversy, after allegations of racist and sexist remarks linked to comments about defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi and the agent involved in the player’s transfer from Orlando Pirates to Chicago Fire. The former Belgian international apologised last month. Broos has also publicly criticised the atmosphere at the tournament, remarks that may not have been well received by organisers or by Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe, a South African.

“I don’t feel the same vibe as what I felt in Ivory Coast and in Gabon,” Broos said. “I don’t know how to explain it but in Ivory Coast and Gabon, every second of the tournament you felt that you were in a tournament. “When we went with the bus to train, people were waving flags, and here you feel nothing.

“There is no vibe. There is no typical AFCON vibe. I don’t feel it here.” On the pitch, Broos has also expressed concerns about his team’s performances. South Africa required late goals to secure group-stage wins over Angola and Zimbabwe, either side of a narrow defeat to Egypt.

According to the coach, his players have a tendency to lose concentration after taking the lead. He said the team must show improvement against Cameroon.

The meeting will be only the second time the two nations have faced each other at the AFCON. Their only previous encounter came in the opening group match of the 1996 tournament, when hosts South Africa defeated Cameroon 3-0 on their way to lifting the trophy.

The winner of Sunday’s tie will advance to the quarter-finals, where a clash with hosts Morocco awaits, provided the Moroccans overcome Tanzania in their own last-16 match. AFP contributed to this story

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