Bafana Bafana of South Africa began their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a positive note with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Angola at the Marrakesh Stadium in their opening Group B match.
The encounter was evenly matched for long periods, with both sides showing attacking intent and defensive discipline. Bafana Bafana, however, found the decisive moment late in the second half as Burnley forward Lyle Foster curled a superb effort past Angola goalkeeper Hugo Marques in the 79th minute to seal the win.
South Africa had taken the lead in the 25th minute through Oswin Appollis, who finished confidently to put Hugo Broos side ahead. Angola responded well to going behind and were rewarded ten minutes later when midfielder Show marked his 50th international appearance by turning in a corner to level the score.
The second half remained competitive, with substitute Tshepang Moremi seeing a goal ruled out for offside as South Africa continued to press. Their persistence paid off when Foster produced a moment of quality late on, restoring Bafana Bafana’s lead.
Angola pushed forward in the closing stages in search of another equaliser, but South Africa held firm to secure their first opening match win at the Africa Cup of Nations in 21 years.
The result also marked a milestone for head coach Hugo Broos, who celebrated his 50th match in charge of Bafana Bafana with victory. Prior to this encounter, South Africa had not beaten Angola since a 1-0 win in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier in November 2015.
This was the 20th meeting between the two nations in all competitions, with South Africa recording nine wins compared to Angola’s four, while six matches have ended in draws in the last 19 ties. Angola had been unbeaten in their previous six encounters with 3 wins and 3 draws against Bafana Bafana before this defeat.
It was also the fifth time the two sides have met at AFCON finals, all in the group stage. In their previous four tournament meetings, South Africa recorded two wins and two draws. Historically, when both teams have been drawn in the same AFCON group, only one has progressed to the knockout stages on each occasion.
South Africa will now look to build on this strong start as they continue their Group B campaign in Morocco when they face Egypt on December 26, while Angola will square up against Zimbabwe.
