The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) might have been going strong since 1957, but South Africa was a little late to the party. Despite only debuting in 1996, the South African national team quickly emerged as a force to be reckoned with. The team proved their mettle immediately, with their inaugural campaign ending in South Africa walking away with the trophy. Despite a staggeringly strong start, this would be South Africa’s only first-place finish in the Africa Cup of Nations. They’ve put in a mixed bag of appearances since, but have failed to progress beyond the quarter-final stages since their historic first run back in the mid-1990s. However, their most recent appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations seems to have bucked the trend.
South Africa’s Triumphant AFCON Return
That initial victory might have led many fans to think South Africa were a shoe-in for future success. However, the South African national team would fail to scale the same heights ever again. In fact, qualification wasn’t always given some years. After failing to qualify for the 2021 edition of the African Cup, South Africa returned to the top flight of continental football alongside other comeback clubs like Namibia, Angola, and Tanzania. DR Congo and Mozambique would also find their way back into the fold, with the latter club making their first AFCON appearance in over a decade.
South Africa See Off the Competition Favourites
Provided they’ve qualified, South Africa rarely fails to disappoint during the early stages of the African Cup of Nations. However, this year, South Africa have put in some jaw-dropping performances against the likes of Morocco. Once considered favourites to win the cup outright, nobody could have envisioned that South Africa would trounce the tournament favourites in a 2-0 victory. While this win was good news for players and reasons to be celebrated on the stands and home.
Unfortunately for South Africa, some teams are fiercer than others. After seeing off Morocco in the quarter-finals, South Africa progressed to the fist semi-finals for the first time in years. The Democratic Republic of Congo paired off against tournament hosts Ivory Coast in the other semi-final fixture of this year’s AFCON, it was left to South Africa to fend off Nigeria for a chance for a spot in the finals.
Related: Sports Minister Congratulates Super Eagles On Giant Movement In Latest FIFA Ranking
South Africa Bow Out in Style
Anticipation for South Africa’s fateful match against Nigeria was dampened somewhat by simmering tensions. While the two teams have always enjoyed a fierce rivalry, things have been known to boil over both on and off the pitch. While South Africa had failed to qualify for such a late-tournament placement for years, the Nigerian national team has a far more impressive rap sheet. In terms of appearances, that is. Nigeria might have made it to the semi-finals half a dozen times in recent years, but they only managed to walk away victorious once.
While most pundits would have circled Nigeria for the win, nobody was counting out South Africa after their long-overdue bounceback. While Nigeria looked set to steal the match with a 1-0 victory, a foul at the 90-minute mark saw the Bafana Bafana boys awarded an eleventh-hour penalty. Teboho Mokoena worked his magic, bringing the game to a tie. This almost turned the table for South Africa, with a failed goal almost taking the team to their first final in more than two decades. This missed opportunity was quickly followed by a red card for Grant Kekana, putting a dent in South Africa’s defence.
With extra time failing to produce any further goals, the two teams were forced to fight for their place in the final from the penalty box. Nigeria comfortably landed their first two penalties, but South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena failed to deliver the goods for a second time. A missed penalty from Nigeria’s Ola Aina was immediately chased by a successful one from Mihlali Mayambela, putting South Africa back in play. However, Aina’s clumsy footwork proved to be the exception, with the rest of Nigeria’s penalty shooters all delivering the goods.
While they might have lost out on their chance to take on Ivory Coast in another AFCON final, South Africa have once again established themselves as real contenders. While groups have yet to be drawn, they seem a shoe-in for qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. With a little luck, they might even manage to go soar past the semi-finals next year and reclaim the trophy once more.
Keen to replicate South Africa’s national team success?
If you want to replicate the success in the African Nations Cup from the South African team, you have various games to try and make it. One of the most well-known in the industry is the Football Manager saga, in which you can put yourself in the position of Hugo Broos and try to beat his own record and win it all… or at least, reach the final.
If you want to play football-related games but you are not looking for a few matches itself, you have online pokies available with a football background. These kinds of games are very interesting if you are not football-savvy, but you still like the game and watch the matches. The atmosphere can be really immersive with sound effects from real matches, so you can feel like a real player on the pitch while you are relaxing on your couch.
EA FC 24 is a standout game between football fans, but an African Nations Cup with it is impossible. The EA Sports title only lets you play with Ghana and Morocco, two of the strongest national teams in the continent, but that’s far from enough to make a big continental tournament.
