Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and 1996 African champion Roger de Sa believes South Africa has a realistic chance of advancing as far as the semi-finals or even the final at the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco.
De Sa, who served as assistant coach when Egypt finished runners-up in the 2021 AFCON, offered an encouraging assessment of Bafana Bafana’s prospects, particularly concerning their Group B rivals.
South Africa is set to begin their campaign on December 22 against Angola, followed by Egypt on December 26, and Zimbabwe on December 29. De Sa sees a clear path to the knockout stages.
De Sa considers both Group B opponents, Zimbabwe and Angola, “very beatable.” “I really believe that Angola and Egypt are not at their best at the moment. Angola are definitely not at their best. And also Zimbabwe, they used to be a hoodoo team for us… but I think in the last couple of encounters, they really struggled. We have really come a long way,” De Sa told FARPost.
He noted that Angola is dealing with coaching changes and financial instability, which he believes minimises their threat to Bafana. “We should get six points out of those two games,” he predicted.
DE SA BELIEVES EGYPT ARE MANAGEABLE
While acknowledging that Egypt, even in its current form, will always be tough, De Sa described them as “manageable.”
“Of course, there’s Mo Salah now wanting to prove a point. Egypt will always be a tough one… You might be at a stage where South Africa does not have to beat Egypt, and sort of coast through to the next round.”
De Sa stressed that the main goal should be securing a top-two finish in the group to reach the quarter-finals, where anything can happen in a cup fixture.
“I think Bafana Bafana have a realistic chance, I see a realistic chance to finish top two in the group and go through to the quarterfinals. Once you get to the knockout stages, it is a cup fixture. Anything can happen.”
Looking ahead to the host country, the former coach highlighted the expected high standard of the tournament environment.
“Firstly, going to Morocco, it is going to be a very, very good Afcon, good hotels, good facilities and probably good crowds as well. It’s looking like it will be one of the better AFCONs we’ve seen.”
WHO WILL WIN AFCON? DE SA PREDICTS
De Sa acknowledged the strength of other major African football powers, predicting a potential winner:
“I still predict Morocco will probably win that tournament hands down. Algeria are looking very strong. Ivory Coast, we just played them in a friendly game the other day… they also have a quality team. Of course, Senegal will be good as well.”
Despite the fierce competition, the 1996 champion remains optimistic about Bafana Bafana’s potential.
“So ya, I let’s see, I think Bafana could pull up something here to reach the semis or even the final,” De Sa told FARPost.
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