The history of South Africa at Afcon: Triumphs and Trials

Bafana Bafana are set to dine with the big boys in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Morocco from December 21 to January 18, 2026.

Hugo Broos' men qualified for the biennial competition from Group K without tasting defeat. They are coming into the competition as one of the favourites owing to what they have recently achieved.

This will be their tenth time in the competition. Afrik-Foot takes you through the previous ones and how Mzansi performed.

Debut champions!

The country hosted the competition for the first time in their history in 1996, just two years after failing to qualify.

A total of 15 teams competed – following Nigeria's withdrawal in the continental competition that was played in four cities. The hosts were in Group A alongside Egyot, Cameroon and Angola.

Enroute to the quarter-final, they beat Cameroon 3-0 before claiming 1-0 victory over regional rivals Angola. Despite falling by the same margin to Egypt, Bafana Bafana had done enough to make the next phase.

They beat Algeria 2-1 in the last eight hurdle before another 3-0 win over Ghana in the semi final. Bafana Bafana then made history by beating Tunisia 2-0 to be crowned.

The 1998 heartbreak

Mzansi had another chance two years later in Burkina Faso to prove their 1996 triumph wasn't a mere fluke. They qualified automatically as the holders.

They were placed in Group C with Ivory Coast – who ended up topping the pool with seven points, Angola and Namibia.

Bafana Bafana drew 0-0 with Angola before a 1-1 outing with Ivory Coast respectively. They then beat Namibia 4-1 to make the quarter-final where claimed 2-1 victory over Morocco.

In the semis, they needed extra time to beat DR Congo 2-1 and set a date with Egypt in the final hurdle but ended up falling 2-0 against the Pharaohs.

A third silverware in a row for Bafana Bafana

South Africa topped Group 4 to qualify for the 2000 edition co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. They performed quite well in the group stage where they topped with seven points.

South Africa beat Gabon 3-1 before claiming a 1-0 win over DR Congo and ended up drawing 1-1 with Algeria. In the quarter-final, Mzansi fell 2-0 to Nigeria to crash out but still ended with a bronze after victory over Tunisia in the third-place play off.

The 2002 story

Mzansi were part of the 16 teams that qualifiied for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations that was played in Mali.

Bafana Bafana topped the pool thanks to their better goal difference after managing five points alongside Ghana who finished second.

South Africa drew 0-0 with Burkina Faso and Ghana respetively meaning they had to beat Morocco to advance. They did exactly that, claiming a 3-1 win to make the last eight of the annual competition.

Things didn't work out in the quarter-final as hosts Mali won 2-0 to make the semi-final where they lost to Mali.

Bafana Bafana fall in the Group stage

The country qualified for the 2004, 2006 and 2008 editions hoping to bounce back and show their quality.

In the 2004 competition held in Tunisia, they were eliminated in the first hurdle after finishing third in Group D. Bafana Bafana defeated Benin 2-0, fell 4-0 against Nigeria before drawing 1-1 with Morocco.

Two years later, they, again, couldn't make out of their pool in the tornament hosted by Egypt. South Africa ended without a point as they lost 2-0 to Guinea, fell by the same margin against Tunisia before another 1-0 loss in the match with Zambia.

It wasn't any better in Ghana during the 2008 edition where they collected two points with a 1-1 draws against Angola and Senegal respectively. They lost the remaining one game against Tunisia 3-1 to finish at the bottom.

Bafana Bafana fail to impress at home

South Africa hosted the 2013 edition hoping to replicate the 1996 heroics where they won the competition.

Despite being the hosts, Bafana Bafana struggled to get out of the group as they started with a goalless draw with Cape Verde. They then beat Angola 2-0 before sharing spoils with Morocco in a four-goal thriller.

It didn't go well in the quarter-final as they fell 3-1 in the shoot-out following a 1-1 draw in both regulation and extra time to crash out.

The 2015, 2019 and 2023 showings

In Equatorial Guinea, Bafana Bafana fans had hoped for a better outing but things didn't work out as anticipated. They finished with a point in Group D after 3-1 loss to Algeria, 1-1 draw with Senegal and 2-1 defeat to Ghana.

Following their failure to make the 2017 edition, South Africa had quite a mixed outing in 2019 in Egypt. First, they managed a single win in Group D; they fell 1-0 against Ivory Coast, fell to Morocco by the same margin with the only win, by the same scoreline, coming against Namibia that saw them make the Round of 16 as one of best-placed teams.

They claimed a shocking 1-0 win over hosts Egypt to make the quarter-final but were defeated 2-1 against Nigeria to crash out.

The 2023 edition was arguably their best outing in recent years; they recovered from 2-0 loss to Mali to beat Namibia 4-0 which was followed by a goalless draw with Tunisia.

In the Round of 16, they beat Morocco 2-0, claimed a 2-1 penalty shootout win over Cape Verde after both sides failed to get goals from open play in the quarter final. Bafana Bafana then drew 1-1 with Nigeria in the semi-final but fell 4-2 in the shootout.

Hugo Broos' men settled to a goalless draw with DR Congo in the third-place playoff but the 6-5 shootout triumph saw them win a bronze.