Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng has reflected on Bafana Bafana’s disappointing 2025 AFCON exit, stating that he takes full responsibility for the Round of 16 defeat against Cameroon.
Bafana failed to book a place in the quarter-finals after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday night. The Indomitable Lions found the back of the net in each half before Bafana scored a consolation goal late in the second-half through Evidence Makgopa.
In a tough battle against Cameroon, Bafana coach Hugo Broos had a surprise approach to the match after deploying what many described as a reinforced defence.
Broos had a back five of Nkosinathi Sibisi, Siyabonga Ngezana, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Samukele Kabini, and Khuliso starting the match against Cameroon. Meanwhile, the Belgian mentor also had Teboho Mokoena and Bathusi Aubass playing as the two defensive midfielders, which limited the team’s chances of imposing themselves in attack.
However, Bafana Bafana looked dangerous on the break in the opening exchanges, carving out several clear-cut counter-attacking opportunities. Despite the early pressure, a lack of clinical finishing proved costly as both Lyle Foster and Relebohile Mofokeng squandered high-quality chances within the first half-hour.
RELEBOHILE MOFOKENG MISSED A GLORIOUS CHANCE TO GIVE BAFANA THE LEAD
Mofokeng missed a glorious opportunity to give Bafana the lead in the eighth minute after receiving the ball from deep, but he ballooned his shot over the crossbar with only the goalkeeper left to beat.
The highly-rated winger was in the starting line-up for the first time in the AFCON, having had limited playing minutes in the group stages after featuring once from the bench against Zimbabwe.
With Bafana Bafana now preparing to pack their bags, the realisation of a premature exit has set in as the squad readies for the journey back home. One of the players, Mofokeng, has spoken about missing the scoring chance and said he’s taking full responsibility.
“I think that [missed] chance could have opened the game for us. I take responsibility that I should have scored,“ Mofokeng said on SABC 2 after the match.
“We created many chances and just needed to use them. I think it’s not the first time we’ve chased the game, but we’ve kept believing we can go beyond the Last 16, but it was not to be.”
So [as much as we are disappointed with the result against Cameroon] our spirit remains high, we just need to continue playing the way that we are playing and use our opportunities [in future games].
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