Cameroon will face hosts Morocco in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) after goals from Junior Tchamadeu and Christian Kofane gave them a 2-1 win over a South Africa side led by their former coach Hugo Broos.
After a bright start from the South Africans, it was a stroke of luck which helped set up Stoke City right-back Tchamadeu for the opening goal in the 34th minute.
After a corner was half-cleared, Carlos Baleba’s shot played pinball inside the penalty area, first striking Bafana Bafana midfielder Nkosinathi Sibisi and then also Indomitable Lions defender Samuel Kotto before dropping kindly for Tchamadeu to tuck home from close range, with the goal confirmed following a long video assistant referee (VAR) check for offside.
With the rain pouring down, striker Kofane glanced a perfect near-post header across goalkeeper Ronwen Williams just two minutes into the second half – following an inviting left-wing cross from Mahamadou Nagida.
Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epassy was forced into two good saves as South Africa finally rallied, while Kofane could have grabbed his second after a raking long ball over the top from Bryan Mbeumo.
Bafana set up a frantic finale when Evidence Makgopa tucked home from three yards out with two minutes of normal time to go, but the Central Africans held on to send their thousands of fans home in delight.
The hosts, who beat Tanzania 1-0 earlier on Sunday, now await the Indomitable Lions in what looks like a mouth-watering tie back in Rabat on Friday (19:00 GMT).
Broos, who led Cameroon to Afcon glory in Gabon in 2017, vowed to show his former employers “no mercy”, a quote which Cameroon’s fans clearly noticed as the Belgian was greeted with boos every time he appeared on the stadium’s big screens.
By contrast, Indomitable Lions legend Samuel Eto’o, now president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot), who was in attendance alongside Fifa counterpart Gianni Infantino, prompted raucous cheers when he was shown.
Eto’o has his own recent history with Belgian coaches, having sacked Marc Brys just weeks before this tournament, with an extraordinary Fecafoot statement accusing Brys of “subterfuge” and “professional failure”.
Out went the likes of Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana and captain Vincent Aboubakar from the squad, with new head coach David Pagou bringing a youthful selection to Morocco.
Eto’o’s unorthodox last-minute call looks to be paying dividends, particularly in the shape of Bayer Leverkusen’s Kofane.
The 19-year-old made his professional debut less than a year ago for Spanish second-tier side Albacete, while his Cameroon debut came in the 1-1 draw against Ivory Coast in the group stage at this tournament.
Having scored his first goal in the 2-1 win over Mozambique, the rangy target man was an important focal point for his side here, leading the line and allowing the impressive Mbeumo and Danny Namaso to do the creative work behind him.
While Tchamadeu’s opener was fortuitous, both the delivery and the header for Kofane’s goal were of the highest quality.
South Africa, and Broos, will be left to rue their profligacy inside the first 15 minutes, when they were well on top.
Burnley striker Lyle Foster planted a near-post header just wide from a free-kick in the third minute before Relebohile Mofokeng wasted his team’s best chance four minutes later, sending his finish high over the bar after a mistake by Che Malone allowed him in behind what, at that point, appeared to be a shaky defensive line.
Foster had the ball in the net shortly after but was flagged offside following his run from just inside the Cameroon half.
It was not until just after the hour mark, once they were 2-0 down, that South Africa threatened again.
Full-back Samukele Kabini saw a close-range effort smothered by Epassy, with the keeper then sharply across to turn a Teboho Mokoena free-kick around the post minutes later.
With the crowd in Rabat dominated by Indomitable Lions fans, there was a tense atmosphere for the closing stages, especially once Makgopa side-footed home Aubrey Modiba’s inviting delivery.
And deep into injury time Makgopa almost found a leveller, flicking a long ball pumped into the box wide of an empty net, with Epassy caught well off his line having failed to get near the delivery.
The gasps of the fans quickly turned to cheers on the final whistle, as Cameroon recorded just their second ever victory over South Africa.
There is undoubted quality in the young squad assembled by Pagou and Eto’o, but whether the five-time champions have enough to see off Morocco on their home turf remains to be seen.
