Cameroon vs South Africa: 3 reasons that should give Bafana Bafana confidence

South Africa will renew their rivalry with Cameroon when they face off in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Bafana Bafana have their work cut out against the Indomitable Lions who are one of the countries tipped to go all the way while they also have the pedigree of being five-time African champions.

Ahead of the meeting in Rabat on Sunday, January 4, there are some factors that should give South Africa cause for optimism.

SA’s decent head-to-head record

This will be the 10^th overall meeting between South Africa and Cameroon and in their previous nine matchups, Bafana Bafana have lost just one.

South Africa have three wins over Cameroon with five ending in draws and this is a decent record that should give Hugo Broos’ men confidence.

Of the nine matches, three have been competitive, the first being during the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, when South Africa won 3-0 and then in March 2016, when the two teams drew 2-2 and then 0-0 in AFCON qualifiers.

That was the last meeting between South Africa and Cameroon, who have faced off in five friendly matches, two won by Bafana Bafana, two drawn and one going the West Africans way.

Hugo Broos the lucky charm?

Bafana Bafana’s other advantage is that they are led by coach Hugo Broos, who is not just a former Cameroon coach but also has been in the job for long.

Broos has been in the hot seat since May 2021 which has helped him build a strong squad and he knows his players well unlike Cameroon coach David Pagou who is not even one month into the job, having been hired days to AFCON 2025.

The Belgian coach will also want to prove a point to his former employers as he is the man who guided them to their last AFCON title in 2017 when he led a relatively young team to the summit of African football.

Young lions vs experienced Bafana

Meanwhile, experience at this level cannot be underestimated and this is an area where Bafana Bafana have an edge.

From the Bafana Bafana class of 2023 that won bronze, nine players are in the current squad with Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau, Aubrey Modiba, Yaya Sithole, Teboho Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa having been starters in Ivory Coast.

Cameroon on the other hand have a young team with only Frank Magri, Nouhou Tolo and Christopher Wooh returning from the squad that exited AFCON 2023 at the Round of 16. Christian Bassogog remains from the team that won AFCON 2017 with Broos.