Cameroon beat South Africa 2-1 to book AFCON quarter-final against Morocco | Football news

Goals from Junior Tchamadeu and Christian Kofane either side of half-time saw Cameroon advance to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations at the expense of South Africa, as the Indomitable Lions beat their round of 16 match 2-1.

Tchamadeu opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Rabat’s Al Medina Stadium on Sunday, and Bayer Leverkusen’s teenage striker Kofane headed in the crucial second goal two minutes after halftime.

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A late rally in South Africa saw Evidence Makgopa fall back, but it was Cameroon who qualified. The five-time champions now play the hosts, Moroccoin the heavyweight quarterfinals on Friday.

They can approach this match in a relaxed atmosphere, knowing that all the pressure is on Morocco as they seek to win a first CAN title in 50 years in front of their home support.

For Cameroon, reaching the round of 16 means the CAN is already a success after a chaotic preparation during which Samuel Eto’o, president of the football federation and legend of the Indomitable Lions, sacked coach Marc Brys, replacing him with David Pagou.

New coach takes over South Africa Hugo Brooswho had promised to show no mercy to Cameroon, nine years after leading them to their last continental crown at the Nations Cup in Gabon.

Bafana Bafana, who finished third in the last CAN two years ago in Ivory Coast, will be extremely disappointed, but they can console themselves by turning their attention to the next World Cup.

Yet South Africa had the opportunity to take an early lead, with Relebohile Mofokeng squandering a golden opportunity inside seven minutes.

Cameroonian defender Che Malone failed to deal with a simple ball forward, to leave Mofokeng on goal, but the Orlando Pirates striker blazed over.

Lyle Foster then put the ball into the net before being denied by the offside flag, and instead Cameroon took the lead just after the half hour mark.

While the South African defense only partially managed to clear a corner, the ball fell to Carlos Baleba at the edge of the area.

He touched and attempted a shot which was deflected into Tchamadeu’s path, and the London-born full-back with Stoke City headed home from close range.

This goal – confirmed after a long VAR check – was celebrated by the Cameroonian supporters, who made up the majority of the 14,127 spectators, including Eto’o, double winner of the CAN as a player.

South Africa would have hoped for a strong start to the second half, but instead Cameroon scored again two minutes after the restart.

Substitute Mahamadou Nagida crossed from the left and Kofane headed home his second goal of the tournament so far.

Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epassy then made good saves from Samukele Kabini and a Teboho Mokoena free kick, before Makgopa turned home a low cross from compatriot Aubrey Modiba in the 88th minute.

This resulted in a grandstand finish, but Cameroon held on nervously.

Morocco beats Tanzania

Earlier on Sunday, Brahim Diaz scored his fourth goal for Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, putting the hosts into the quarter-finals with a nervy 1-0 round of 16 victory over Tanzania in Rabat.

Morocco dominated possession, but Tanzania also had opportunities, and it took a fine strike from Diaz to book a place in the quarter-finals.

Captain Achraf Hakimi fed Diaz on the right side of the box in the 64th minute, and the Real Madrid playmaker made his way to the line before firing into the goal from a tight angle when most expected a cross.

Morocco wasted several other chances, but were also fortunate that Tanzania wasted too, with Simon Msuva and Feisal Salum missing exceptional chances for the East Africans to keep the score 0-0.

It was far from a vintage performance from the home side, who have yet to step up a gear at the tournament, but they did enough to keep their campaign on track.

“The competition is intensifying and we faced our toughest opponent in this Tanzania team,” Diaz said.

“Everything didn’t work out, we know, but fortunately we managed to qualify [to the next round]. Now we get back to work to be fully ready for the quarter-finals.