Binewa Team Profile: South Africa at TotalEnergies AFCON 2023
Muambo E. Lyonga
South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho.
It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 62 million people, the country is the world’s 23rd-most populous nation and covers an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres.
Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament, is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein has traditionally been regarded as the judicial capital. The largest city, and site of highest court is Johannesburg.
South Africa has participated in three FIFA World Cup and will be making their 11th Africa Cup of Nations appearance in Côte d’Ivoire. The 1996 winners have been on the AFCON podium on three occasions.
Team Bio
Plagued with Apartheid, South Africa was banned from participating in the Africa Cup of Nations from 1959 to 1992. They qualified for the 1957 tournament but were later disqualified.
They their AFCON debut in 1996 as hosts. They were drawn in Group A with Cameroon, Egypt and Angola. In their first ever AFCON game, against Cameroon, South Africa won in style with a 3-0 score line. Philemon Raul Masinga, Mark Williams and John Moshoeu were the goal scorers for South Africa and Coach Clive Barker’s men had made a huge statement of intent. Mark Williams got his second goal of the tournament in their 1-0 win over Angola in their second game. Their 0-1 loss against Egypt in their third game was inconsequential as they still finished top of the group. In the quarterfinals against Algeria, Mark Fish and John Moshoeu were on target for South Africa, while Tarek Lazizi scored Algeria’s consolatory goal.
They made Ghana look ordinary in the semifinals with a 3-0 bashing. John Moshoeu bagged a brace and Shaun Bartlett opened his goal scoring account in the tournament in front of 75,000 spectators at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. In the final against Tunisia, Mark Williams scored both goals in a 2-0 win as South Africa lifted their first AFCON trophy at the first time of asking.
Burkina Faso hosted the 21st edition of the tournament in 1998. Bafana Bafana were determined to hold on to their prized jewel. They were drawn in Group C with Côte d’Ivoire, Angola and Namibia. Draws with Angola(0-0) and Côte d’Ivoire (1–1) were followed by a 4-1 mauling of neighbors Namibia.
Benni McCarthy stole the show with all four goals for South Africa. With five points they booked their place in the knockout stage behind Côte d’Ivoire with seven points. Against Morocco in the quarterfinals, Benni McCarthy continued to shine, he opened the scoring at the 22nd minute for South Africa. Saïd Chiba equalized for Morocco but South Africa got their winner through David Nyathi. Two time winners DR Congo were their opponents at the semifinals, Benni McCarthy was walking on water, he bagged a brace in their 1-2 win and secured them a second consecutive final after extra time. South Africa fell short against Egypt in the final as Ahmed Hassan and Tarek Mostafa’s goals handed Egypt the trophy in Ouagadougou.
In the first ever AFCON cohosted by two countries(Ghana and Nigeria), South Africa were drawn in Group B with Algeria, DR Congo and Gabon. Vincent Dumisa Ngobe and a brace from Shaun Bartlett gave them a 3-1 win over Gabon in their opening game. Bartlett was on target again in their 1-0 win over DR Congo in their second game. He scored his fourth goal of the tournament in their 1-1 draw with Algeria in their final group game. As group B winners, they were drawn against Group A runners-up Ghana in the quarterfinals. Siyabonga Eugene Nomvethe’s 42nd minute goal was all they needed to see off Ghana. In the semifinals against host Nigeria, Tijani Babangida was a handful for them as his brace booked the host a place in the final and Bafana Bafana had to settle for a place in the classification game against Tunisia. Bartlett with his fifth of the tournament and Nomvethe with his second scored for South Africa but Ali Zitouni replied with two goals for Tunisia and the game was decided in a shootout after extra time., South Africa prevailed on a 4-3 score line. For the third consecutive time, they were on the AFCON podium.
The South African decline was steady, in 2002 in Mali, they battled their way out of Group as group winners ahead of Ghana, Morocco and Burkina Faso. Two goalless draws in their first two games against Burkina Faso and Ghana respectively and 3-1 win over Morocco, with goals from
Sibusiso Wiseman Zuma, Thabo Mngomeni and Siyabonga Nomvethe saw them finish as Group B table toppers. They did not come to live against hosts Mali in the quarterfinals. Bassala Touré and Dramane Coulibaly scored for Mali in a comfortable 2-0 win.
They were eliminated at the Group stage in the next three tournaments and failed to qualify for the next two.
In 2004 in Tunisia, Siyabonga Nomvethe’s brace against Benin in a 2-0 win was followed by a 4-0 humiliation to against Nigeria and a 1-1 draw with Morocco thanks to a goal from Patrick Mzolisi Mayo. South Africa were eliminated with four points in Group D behind Morocco with seven and Nigeria with six points.
Another dismal performance followed in 2006 in Egypt were they finished 16th out of 16 participating nations. They lost all three games in Group C in what is till this date their worst ever AFCON performance. They lost on an identical 2-0 score line to Guinea and Tunisia before losing 1-0 to Zambia. They bowed out with no point and no goal scored.
In 2008 in Ghana, they were drawn in Group D with Tunisia, Angola and Senegal. They failed to win any of three games, with two draws and one loss. Elrio van Heerden scored a late equalizer in their 1-1 draw with Angola, before a 3-1 loss to Tunisia with Katlego Abel Mphela with their lone goal of the game. Van Heerden again opened the scoring in their final group game against Senegal, but Henri Camara replied for Teranga Lions in a 1–1 draw. For the third consecutive time they were eliminated at the groups stage.
The last and only time South Africa had previously hosted the tournament, they emerged as winners. They had a chance to repeat that feat in 2013. South Africa were drawn in Group A with Morocco, Angola and Cape Verde. A 0-0 draw with Cape Verde in their first game was followed by 2-0 win over Angola. Siyabonga Sangweni and Michael Majoro were on target for the hosts. They settled for a share of the spoils with Morocco in their final group game in a 2-2 draw. Issam El Adoua gave Morocco the lead in a game full of late drama. May Sphiwe Mahlangu equalized for South Africa. Abdelilah Hafidi restored Morocco’s lead at the 82nd minute but South Africa showed great spirit and got their equalizer at the 86th minute through Siyabonga Sangweni with his second in the tournament. Their quarterfinals game against Mali started well, the curtain raiser from Tokelo Rantie. Seydou Keïta scored Mali’s equalizer and the game stretched into extra time and was decided in a shootout. Dean Furman, Mahlangu and Majoro missed their spot kicks and Mali progressed to the last four to the disappointment of the belligerent home supporters.
Another disappointing groups stage exit followed in 2015 in Equatorial Guinea. Drawn in a very difficult Group C, South Africa managed just a draw in three games. Thuso Phala’s goal against Algeria was not enough in a 3-1 loss in their first game. Oupa Matthews Manyisa gave Bafana Bafana the lead against Senegal but Kara Mbodji got an equalizer for the Teranga Lions. Their final group game against Ghana was a must win but they fell short again. Mandla Grateful Masango’s 17th minute goal was cancelled out by goals from John Boye and Andre Ayew. South Africa were eliminated at the groups stage.
In 2017 in Gabon they failed to qualify and returned in 2019 in Egypt for their 10th and last Africa Cup of Nations appearance. It wasn’t a vintage performance, but they at least managed to reach the knockout stage. A loss to Côte d’Ivoire (1-0) in their first game was followed with a 1-0 win over Namibia thanks to a goal from Bongani Zungu. They lost their last game(1-0) to Morocco but qualified for the knockout stage in the AFCON’s first 24 teams tournament as best losers from Group D. In the round of 16, they were up against host nation, Egypt in front of 75,000 spectators at the Cairo International Stadium. Thembinkosi Lorch silenced the home support with an 85th minute winner. 2013 winners Nigeria were their quarterfinals opponents. Samuel Chimerenka Chukwueze opened the scoring for Nigeria at the 27th minute before Bongani Zungu equalized for South Africa at the 71st minute. Nigeria had the final word through an 89th minute from William Paul Troost-Ekong. South Africa’s wait for another AFCON win continues.
With 2017 AFCON winning coach Hugo Broos now at the helm of the team, there is a new wave of hope and believe around the team as they travel to Côte d’Ivoire for an 11th AFCON participation.
The Journey
South Africa were drawn in Group K with Morocco , Liberia and Zimbabwe. Despite failing to win in their first game, with a 2-1 loss to Morocco, and managing only a draw (2-2) in their second game against Liberia, they rallied and made sure they booked their ticket for the tournament. The group initially consisted of four teams, however,, on May 23, 2022, CAF announced that Zimbabwe were disqualified from the qualifiers due to the continued suspension of the Zimbabwe Football Association by FIFA. The group thus went ahead with only the three remaining teams.
The teams played against each other in a home-and-away round-robin format between June 9, 2022 and October17, 2023.
Morocco and South Africa, the group winners and runners-up respectively, qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Earlier Results
Game day 1
Morocco 2-1 South Africa
Game day 2
South Africa 2-2 Liberia
Game day 3
Liberia 1-2 South Africa
Game day 4
South Africa 2-1 Morocco
Qualifications group
Morocco 9 pts
South Africa 7 pts
Liberia 1 pt
Zimbabwe 0 pt
Players to watch
Pecy Tau
Pecy Muzi Tau was born in Witbank South Africa on May 13, 1994. He currently plays Casa forward for Egyptian top tier side Al Ahly. Tau began his footballing career with South African Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns where he made 100 appearances either side of a loan to his hometown club Witbank Spurs. During his time with Sundowns, he won the league title twice and the CAF Champions League once and was named Footballer of the Year and joint-top-goalscorer in his final season with the club.
He joined Brighton and Hove Albion in 2018 but, due to work-permit complications, was loaned out to Belgian side Union SG with whom he won the Proximus League Player of the Season award. His form earned him a short-term move to Club Brugge, where he won a league winners’ medal the following season, before being loaned out for a third consecutive season when he signed for rivals Anderlecht in 2020.
Tau signed for Egyptian Premier League side Al Ahlyin 2021 on a two-year contract. Tau became the highest scoring South African in the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2023 when he scored his third goal of the competition. With 15 goals in 41 caps, Pecy Tau will perfectly fit in the shoes of Lyle Foster who was South Africa’s top scorer in the qualifiers but ruled out from the tournament due to health reasons. Tau is also South Africa’s most capped player in the tournament.
Themba Zwane
34-year-old Themba Zwane is one of the best players of all time in PSL era and a key player and playmaker for Mamelodi Sundowns for more than three years. Born on August 3, 1989 in Tembisa, South Africa Zwane’s experience will be vital for the young South African team in Côte d’Ivoire. With 36 caps and seven goals to his name eight times South African league winner and 2016 CAF Champions League winner will be vital for the team off and on the pitch.
Evidence Makgopa
Makgopa was born in GaMampa, near Burgersfort in Limpopo. At 23, he is regarded at the man to be South Africa leading striker in the not so.distant future. The Orland Pirates forward with 10 caps and three goals to his name made his debut for South Africa as a substitute against Uganda and scored a brace in a 3–2 win. He represented the South Africa under-23 team at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and scored once in 3 appearances
He began his playing career with Baroka who scouted him in 2018, and was promoted to their first team from their development squad in January 2020. He moved to Soweto giants Orlando Pirates in 2022 and has continued to grow from strength to strength.
Coach
Hugo Broos
71-year-old Belgian coach Hugo Henri Broos who led Cameroon to 2017 Africa Cup of Nations glory in South Africa will be the man to try and mastermind South Africa’s second AFCON triumph. The former Anderlecht and Club Brugge player won multiple league and Cup titles during his playing days and has also won two league title and two Belgian Cups with Club Brugge as coach. The 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2006 Belgian Professional Coach of the Year is known for his strict discipline and tactical awareness. With Broos in charge, South Africa has a man who can finally take them to the promise land again.
2023 AFCON matches Group E
South Africa will kick-start its campaign against Mali on January 16, and play against Namibia on the 21s and 2004 winners Tunisia on the 24th of January respectively.
