Indomitable Lions score goal in each half and survive late fightback from Bafana Bafana to set up a last eight clash with hosts.
Goals either side of half-time by Junior Tchamadeu and Christian Kofane took Cameroon through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals at South Africa’s expense, as the Indomitable Lions edged their last-16 clash 2-1.
Tchamadeu opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, and teenage Bayer Leverkusen forward Kofane headed in the crucial second goal two minutes after half-time.
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A late rally from South Africa saw Evidence Makgopa pull one back, but it is Cameroon who go through. The five-time champions now play the hosts, Morocco, in a heavyweight quarterfinal on Friday.
They can go into that match in a relaxed mood, knowing all the pressure is on Morocco as they look to win a first AFCON title in 50 years in front of their home support.
For Cameroon, reaching the last eight means their AFCON is already a success after a chaotic buildup in which Samuel Eto’o, the football federation president and Indomitable Lions legend, sacked the coach, Marc Brys, replacing him with David Pagou.
The new coach got the better of South Africa’s Hugo Broos, who had promised to show no mercy to Cameroon, nine years after leading them to their last continental crown at the Cup of Nations in Gabon.
Bafana Bafana, who finished third at the last AFCON two years ago in Ivory Coast, will be hugely disappointed, but they can console themselves by turning their attentions towards the upcoming World Cup.
Yet, South Africa had chances to take an early lead, with Relebohile Mofokeng squandering a golden opportunity inside seven minutes.
Cameroon defender Che Malone failed to deal with a simple ball forward, to leave Mofokeng in on goal, but the Orlando Pirates forward blazed over.
Lyle Foster then had the ball in the net only to be denied by the offside flag, and instead, Cameroon went in front just after the half-hour mark.
When the South African defence could only partially clear a corner, the ball fell to Carlos Baleba on the edge of the area.
He took a touch and tried a shot which was deflected into the path of Tchamadeu, and the London-born full-back with Stoke City rolled home from close range.
That goal – confirmed after a long VAR check – was celebrated by the Cameroonian fans, who made up the majority of the 14,127 crowd, with two-time AFCON winner as a player Eto’o among those in attendance.
South Africa would have hoped for a strong start to the second half, but instead, Cameroon scored again within two minutes of the restart.
Substitute Mahamadou Nagida crossed from the left, and Kofane headed in his second goal of the tournament so far.
Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epassy then made good saves from Samukele Kabini and from a Teboho Mokoena free-kick, before Makgopa turned in a low cross by fellow substitute Aubrey Modiba on 88 minutes.
That set up a grandstand finish, but Cameroon nervously held on.
Morocco see off Tanzania
Earlier on Sunday, Brahim Diaz scored his fourth goal for Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to put the hosts into the quarterfinals with a nervous 1-0 Round-of-16 victory over Tanzania in Rabat.
Morocco dominated possession, but Tanzania had opportunities too, and it took a fine strike from Diaz to book a place in the last eight.
Captain Achraf Hakimi fed Diaz on the right side of the box on 64 minutes, and the Real Madrid playmaker worked his way to the byline 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 were wasteful too, with Simon Msuva and Feisal Salum missing gilt-edged opportunities for the East Africans, with the score at 0-0.
It was far from a vintage performance from the home side, who have yet to click into top gear at the tournament, but they did enough to keep their campaign on track.
“The competition is hotting up, and we faced our toughest opponent in this Tanzania team,” Diaz said.
“Not everything worked, we know that, but fortunately, we managed to secure our qualification [to the next round]. Now, we are going back to work to be fully ready for the quarterfinals.”
