Talented midfielder Teboho Mokoena has identified an area that Bafana Bafana needs to improve on moving forward to the knockout stage of the CAF 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco.
Hugo Broos’ boys were pitted in Group B of the AFCON competition alongside Egypt, Angola, and neighbours Zimbabwe.
Bafana began their AFCON journey on Monday, 22 December, with a hard-fought 2-1 win against Angola at the Grand Stade de Marrakech.
South Africa went on to suffer a 1-0 defeat to Egypt in their second game of the group stage on Friday, 26 December, at Stade Adrar, Agadir.
However, the side managed to bounce back in their last game of Group B, securing a 3-2 win over the Warriors of Zimbabwe at the Grand Stade de Marrakech on Monday, 29 December 2025.
As a result, Bafana managed to qualify for the Round of 16 of the AFCON tournament, having finished second in Group B with six points from three outings, just a point behind group leaders Egypt.
Bafana will face the runners-up of Group F in the Last 16 of the AFCON tournament. It will be either Cameroon, Ivory Coast, or Mozambique.
WHAT BAFANA BAFANA NEED TO WORK ON FROM TEBOHO MOKOENA’S POINT OF VIEW
With the knockout stage approaching, Mokoena mentioned that South Africa must focus on maintaining their concentration, staying calm when faced with difficulties, and playing their usual style of football.
“Well, I think that in the Zimbabwe game, we got nervous when they scored the second goal, but then we went on to score ourselves. They started putting more players in front, and I think we began to panic a little bit,” said Mokoena.
“I believe we should have been calmer on the ball because when we are in control, we play so much better.
“So, when we start playing too many long balls, that is not our game. I think we need to improve on that as we move forward into the knockout stages.”
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