Which AFCON Team Has the Best Defence? Can Bafana Bafana Compete?

They say strikers win you games but defenders win you titles and ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, defence will determine who lifts the trophy.

Morocco is set to host the next AFCON edition, taking place from December 21- January 18, and a number of teams come into the tournament with mean defences that they will be banking on to deliver them the title.

Bafana Bafana are among those teams as they come into the 24-team tournament after letting in just three goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers, having conceded six in as many AFCON 2025 qualifiers.

However, there are other teams that will head to Morocco with a much better defence which will set up a fascinating tournament.

Hosts Morocco, who are among AFCON title favourites, are among the teams with the tightest defences, having conceded just four goals in 14 competitive games.

Case for Morocco and Tunisia ahead of AFCON

Morocco conceded two goals in six AFCON qualifiers, when they topped their group with a perfect record, as they won all their six games with the two goals let in, being in a 4-1 home win to Gabon before they beat the same opponents 5-1 away.

In the World Cup qualifiers, which are their most recent games, The Atlas Lions only conceded in identical 2-1 wins over Zambia and Niger as they won all their eight games and were among the first teams to book their place at next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

If Morocco had a good defence then Bafana Bafana need to look at Tunisia to know that their work is cut out. The Carthage Eagles did not concede a single goal in 10 World Cup qualifiers, an impressive record that had come after they let in six as they finished second in their AFCON qualification group.

Who are the team with best defence in Africa?

However, the team that looks like it will be hard to break down are defending champions Ivory Coast who come into the tournament with the meanest defence across 16 matches that involve 10 World Cup qualifiers and six AFCON qualification games.

The Ivorians did not have a great AFCON qualification journey by their very high standards as they lost two games, a surprise 1-0 defeat to Sierra Leone and another loss to Zambia by the same score line, to finish second in their group.

They let in a total of three goals but once the World Cup qualifiers started, they were a class above the rest.

Ivory Coast won eight games and drew two, one against Kenya and another one with Gabon, both ending 0-0, while their wins were without a sniff at their goal.

The Elephants also scored the most goals among all the African teams during the World Cup qualifiers, having banged in 26.