Christian Kofane scored for the second time in the tournament as Cameroon held off a spirited South Africa fightback to claim a 2-1 victory and set up a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown with hosts Morocco in Rabat.
The five-time champions struck twice in a dominant spell either side of half-time before surviving nervous final moments when Evidence Makgopa reduced the deficit late on. The victory sets up a heavyweight quarter-final against Morocco, who earlier defeated Tanzania 1-0 in Rabat.
South Africa started brightly and will rue a series of missed chances in the opening exchanges, particularly against a Cameroon defence that initially looked disjointed. Bafana Bafana also benefited from two extra rest days, with Cameroon having played their final group match on Wednesday.
An injury to Cameroon’s Darlin Yongwa briefly halted proceedings and allowed both teams to reorganise. From that point, the Indomitable Lions grew into the contest, buoyed by vocal support inside the 18,000-capacity Stade Al Barid. A loud cheer rippled through the stadium when cameras focused on Samuel Eto’o, now president of Cameroon’s football federation, whilst South Africa coach Hugo Broos was met with boos.
Cameroon struck first in the 34th minute when Junior Tchamadeu guided the ball inside the far post after South Africa failed to deal with a corner. The goal was confirmed following a lengthy VAR review.
South Africa would have hoped for a strong start to the second half, but instead Cameroon doubled their advantage within two minutes of the restart. Substitute Mahamadou Nagida crossed from the left, and Kofane headed in his second goal of the tournament.
Goalkeeper Devis Epassy then made crucial saves from Samukele Kabini and from a Teboho Mokoena free-kick as South Africa pressed for a way back into the contest. The Bafana Bafana finally broke through in the 88th minute when Makgopa turned in a low cross from fellow substitute Aubrey Modiba.
That set up a grandstand finish, but Cameroon nervously held on for a first victory over South Africa since 1992.
Cameroon will now face hosts Morocco in a heavyweight quarter-final clash in Rabat on Friday. Both teams will fancy their chances in what promises to be one of the ties of the round, whilst South Africa’s tournament ends despite their third-place finish at the last edition two years ago in Ivory Coast. For Broos, it was a painful defeat against the team he led to continental glory in Gabon nine years earlier.
