Bafana’s AFCON rivals left to rue R198m pre-AFCON friendly after early exit

Bafana Bafana were relieved to seal their place in the knockout rounds of AFCON 2025 but one of their group stage rivals are counting heavy losses.

South Africa finished second in Group B with six points from three matches, one behind Egypt, while Angola managed two points and Zimbabwe one.

Bafana Bafana and the Pharaohs sealed their place in the Round of 16 while Angola faced an anxious time on Tuesday as they had to wait for the outcome of Group C where Nigeria were playing Uganda while Tanzania faced Tunisia.

A favourable result would send Angola to the Round of 16 as one of the third best ranked teams but it did not go according to plan as Tanzania played out a 1-1 draw with Tunisia to clinch the ticket by virtue of scoring one more goal than the Palancas Negras.

Palancas Negras paid big for Argentina friendly

That sent Angola home and the impact of the disappointing campaign is being felt in the country after they invested heavily in the team’s preparations.

Ahead of AFCON 2025, Angola invited world champions Argentina for a friendly match in Luanda and according to multiple reports, they paid the South Americans $12 million (R198 million) for the high-profile game.

Lionel Messi and his teammates would travel to Luanda for the match which was played on November 14, the Barcelona legend scoring and assisting as they beat their hosts 2-0.

How much did Angola earn at AFCON 2025?

However, the cost of the game generated mixed reactions but Angola felt it was necessary as the team needed such high-profile tune-up games ahead of AFCON 2025 while it also marked their 50-year independence celebrations.

But with the outcome of their AFCON campaign, which started with a 2-1 loss to South Africa, then a 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe before a barren stalemate against Egypt, the huge amount seems to have not yielded the full expected results.

Angola will go home with just $500,000 (R8.2 million) which is the prize money for teams that get eliminated at the group stage while even winning the competition would not have returned a ‘profit’ as AFCON 2025 champions will be rewarded $10 million (R165 million).