Bafana Bafana players and head coach Hugo Broos celebrate the victory over Morocco.
@caf_online
After booting Morocco out of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Soccer Laduma looks at Bafana Bafana’s 10 most memorable victories at the competition.
Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena sent Bafana Bafana into the quarterfinals with goals against Morocco on Tuesday evening, in a victory that will live long in the memory of South African supporters. Here are 10 of Bafana’s most memorable wins at the competition.
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1. South Africa 2 Tunisia 0 (1996 final)
Without a doubt Bafana’s biggest win at AFCON as this was a victory that sealed the one and only continent title for the national team. Mark Williams was the hero with a second half brace in arguably the finest moment in Bafana history.
2. South Africa 3 Cameroon 0 (1996 group stage)
Bafana’s first ever game at the Africa Cup of Nations was against Cameroon as hosts and they made sent out a strong message early on in the competition with a 3-0 hammering of the West Africans in this group clash. Phil Masinga, Mark Williams and John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu were on the scoresheet
3. South Africa 3 Ghana 0 (1996 semi-final)
Bafana cruised past a Ghanaian side which had the likes of Samuel Kuffour, Daniel Addo, Tony Yeboah and Abedi Pele to book themselves a spot in the final in their first ever appearance in the competition. ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu bagged a brace and Shaun Bartlett got his name on the scoresheet to seal an emphatic win.
4. South Africa 4 Namibia 1 (1998 group stage)
Bafana scored four goals in one game for the first time in the competition when they faced Southern African rivals Namibia in group phase clash. This game is best remembered for the four goals scored by a young Benni McCarthy.
5. DR Congo 1 South Africa 2 (1998 semi-final)
Bafana came from behind in this semi-final clash to book a spot in the final for a second consecutive time. It was that man McCarthy who was the hero, equalising in the second half before netting the winner during extra-time. Bafana went on to lose to Egypt in the final.
6. Ghana 0 South Africa 1 (2000 quarterfinal)
Bafana had to dig deep to secure this victory and book a spot in the semi-finals. Siyabonga Nomvethe was the hero with a goal three minutes from half-time.
7. South Africa 3 Morocco 1 (2002 group stage)
Sibusiso Zuma, Thabo Mngomeni and Nomvethe were on the scoresheet in this big victory for Bafana in their final group game. After playing to goalless draws against Burkina Faso and Ghana in their previous two matches, this victory sealed top spot in the group and a place in the quarterfinals.
8. Egypt 0 South Africa 1 (2019 last 16)
Bafana qualified for the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams and many had not given them a chance of knocking hosts Egypt out of the competition. Thembinkosi Lorch had other ideas as he netted the winner to leave the Egyptian supporters stunned.
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9. South Africa 2 Morocco 0 (2024 last 16)
Africa’s number one side Morocco were left in disbelief when Bafana sent them packing, following a solid performance by Hugo Broos’ men. A strong second half performance, capped by goals from Makgopa and Mokoena, wrapped up a brilliant victory.
10. South Africa 4 Namibia (2024 group stage)
This goes down as South Africa’s biggest victory at the competition and, as was the case in 1998, the four goals they scored were against Namibia. This time, it came with a clean sheet. Themba Zwane netted a brace, while Percy Tau and Thapelo Maseko were part of the party with a goal in each half.
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