South Africa’s Bafana Bafana secured their place in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with a dramatic 3-2 victory over southern African rivals Zimbabwe in a pulsating Group B encounter at the Grand Stade de Marrakech on Monday.
Oswin Appollis converted a late penalty to seal the win for Hugo Broos’ side, who finished second in the group behind Egypt and advanced to the knockout stages for the third consecutive tournament.
The match was a classic back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading blows in front of a lively crowd.
South Africa struck first in the seventh minute when Tshepang Moremi’s shot from the right side of the box took a wicked deflection off a Zimbabwean defender, looping over goalkeeper Washington Arubi and into the net.
Zimbabwe responded brilliantly just 12 minutes later. Young forward Tawanda Maswanhise picked up the ball 35 yards out, danced past two defenders, and rifled a low shot into the bottom corner past Ronwen Williams – a goal widely tipped as one of the tournament’s finest so far.
Burnley striker Lyle Foster restored Bafana Bafana’s lead early in the second half, rising highest to head home a cross and beat the advancing Arubi.
The Warriors refused to lie down and equalized in bizarre fashion when Williams saved from Maswanhise, only for the rebound to cannon off South African defender Aubrey Modiba and into his own net.
With the game heading towards a draw that would have eliminated both sides’ realistic hopes, drama struck in the 80th minute. A shot from substitute Mohau Nkota was blocked on the line by the hand of Zimbabwe captain Marvelous Nakamba, prompting a VAR review. The referee pointed to the spot and booked Nakamba.
Appollis stepped up coolly to slot home the penalty, sending South Africa into ecstasy and Zimbabwe crashing out.
The result sees Bafana Bafana advance with six points, setting up a Round of 16 clash against the runners-up from Group F. Zimbabwe, despite a valiant display, remain winless in their sixth AFCON appearance and bow out at the group stage once again.
Coach Hugo Broos praised his team’s resilience but admitted there is room for improvement as they eye a deeper run in Morocco.
“We showed character to come back and win, but we made it hard for ourselves,” Broos said post-match. “Now we focus on the next challenge.”
For Zimbabwe, it was a heartbreaking end to a campaign that showed promise but ultimately yielded just one point.