South Africa’s Bafana Bafana beat Angola 2-1 in AFCON opener

By the Editor

Lyle Foster hit a stunning late winner as South Africa beat Angola 2-1 in the opening match of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

Speaking pre-match, Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos had made a point of downplaying his side’s title hopes, but they gave their nation cause to dream with an impressive showing, the London Evening Standard reports.

It was an entertaining affair in Marrakesh. The match was wide open from the off and promptly produced goals. Oswin Appollis’ opener was promptly cancelled out by Manuel Luis Show before the break.

But a tightly-contested second period was settled as misfiring Burnley striker Foster picked out the top-right corner with the clock winding down. It had until then been a forgettable performance for the 25-year-old, but he rewrote the narrative with his intervention, and perhaps renewed his claim to the starting No. 9 spot.

South Africa, then, immediately go top of Group B, if only temporarily.

It is the perfect start to Bafana Bafana’s AFCON campaign, though, as they look to end a 30-year wait for a continental title.

While the match was level at the break, Angola would have been frustrated not to score more than the one goal they managed.

Ronwen Williams quickly established himself as the main character in the opening exchanges, making a smart diving stop to deny Gelson Dala’s header mere minutes into the match.

South Africa promptly clicked into gear and took the lead as Foster’s miscontrol allowed Appollis to pounce and lash the loose ball beyond Hugo Marques and into the bottom left corner.

Williams came up with another pair of reaction saves to deny headed efforts from Fredy and Gelson, before Show finally got the better of him, getting a crucial touch to a well-hit cross which snuck in at the near post.

The second half struggled to live up to the theatrics of the first. Tshepang Moremi was introduced off the bench at half-time and looked to have made an immediate impact as he finished a smart team move with a laser-guided finish, but an offside in the build-up saw it chalked off.

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South Africa versus Angola at AFCON 2025 in Morocco. AFP photo