AFCON 2025: Who should be blamed for Bafana Bafana’s elimination?

Bafana Bafana saw their journey at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations come to an end at the Round of 16 following a 2-1 loss to Morocco on Sunday.

Hugo Broos’ men started well but suffered a disappointing defeat, ending a tournament they were confident of winning early, and following that exit the inquest is on.

Broos has promised to evaluate everything in a week as he looks to avoid the same mistakes ahead of the 2026 World Cup but questions are being asked on who is responsible for the elimination.

As it is in football, the coach is always the fall guy when a team underperforms and Broos cannot escape blame when it comes to naming the people responsible for the AFCON flop.

However, given what was seen from Bafana Bafana at AFCON, the elimination is a shared responsibility between the coach and his players.

Why Broos is to blame

Coach Broos went into the tournament with a squad of 25 players with nine from Orlando Pirates and five from Mamelodi Sundowns but there is a feeling that he might have left out some who would have done a better job.

One of the key areas was creativity which was lacking from midfield in Morocco compared to Ivory Coast two years ago.

With Themba Zwane not winning the fitness race, Sipho Mbule was the only specialist No.10 that Broos included in his squad as he hoped that the MasterChef would continue cooking after his great pre-AFCON form.

Bafana’s lack of creativity worrying

However, Mbule struggled and when he did, Broos had no one to turn to. Even Relebohile Mofokeng, who could have done a job in the position did not get a start in the group stages, where he managed 21 minutes against Egypt.

While Rele started the game against Cameroon, he looked like he lacked the confidence and sharpness given the way he wasted Bafana’s best chance of the first half in the seventh minute.

Would someone like Mduduzi Shabalala or Thembinkosi Lorch have added more creativity for Bafana Bafana? That is a question Broos will have to answer when he makes his evaluation.

Was Makgopa underutilised?

Meanwhile, Broos will also take blame for his underutilisation of Evidence Makgopa, who did not play a major role like he did in Ivory Coast. Makgopa, who scored the consolation on Sunday, came on in the 63^rd minutes but it was clear that the game needed him earlier.

The other issue that Broos will have to take blame for is his decision not to change the system when it was clear Cameroon had mustered it. The tactician went with a three-man defence, which seemed to do well initially, but once Cameroon took command, Broos opted against changing the shape to a back four that would have been more familiar, made the players more comfortable and given him other options in attack.

Where players are to blame

Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana players cannot go under the radar even if they put their best foot forward.

South Africa should have been at least 2-0 up inside eight minutes when Lyle Foster, Mofokeng and Samukelo Kabini buried their chances and they were made to pay dearly.

At such a stage, chances are few and far between and efficiency in front of goal makes all the difference. In Sunday’s game, both sides had four shots on target but Cameroon used their opportunities better.

Porous defence let South Africa down

Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana players did not really light up AFCON 2025 as they did at the 2023 edition given they also failed to raise the level while they were so open, which is unlike them.

For a team that kept three clean sheets by the time they finished their Round of 16 at AFCON 2023, South Africa conceded in every game this time, winning 2-1 against Angola, losing 1-0 to Egypt, beating Zimbabwe 3-2 before the loss to Cameroon.

Those scrappy group stage wins papered over the cracks but they were eventually found out by Cameroon. Bafana Bafana players simply did not rise to the occasion in Morocco like in Ivory Coast two years ago.