By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa will face a stern test from an unpredictable Cameroon, a team head coach Hugo Broos knows well since he led them to the title in 2017.
Broos knows all about how dangerous Cameroon can be coming into an AFCON tournament to a backdrop of turmoil.
He led a makeshift Indomitable Lions squad, missing some of their biggest names who had refused to accept call-ups, to the title in Gabon in 2017.
They beat Egypt 2-1 in the final to claim their fifth continental crown.
Fast forward nine years and his focus now is on improving on South Africa’s performance at the last Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast in 2024, when they reached the semifinals and eventually finished third.
“I don’t feel the same vibe as what I felt in Ivory Coast and in Gabon,” Broos remarked.
“I don’t know how to explain it but in Ivory Coast and Gabon, every second of the tournament you felt that you were in a tournament.
“When we went with the bus to train, people were waving flags, and here you feel nothing. There is no vibe. There is no typical AFCON vibe. I don’t feel it here.”
He has also not been entirely pleased with his team, who needed late goals to beat Angola and Zimbabwe in the group stage, either side of a narrow loss against Egypt.
Broos says they keep “falling asleep after taking leads”, and will expect an improvement against Cameroon.
“Now, everybody knows what a good team we are and mindset of the opponent is totally different. Yes, we have to adapt to that, knowing that it will not be easy anymore. We will have to play every game at 100% of our talents and our qualities. If we don’t do that with the right mentality, we will always be in trouble.”
South Africa and Cameroon will meet at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat with a spot in the quarter-finals at stake.
In a Head-to-Head record, Bafana Bafana have the edge, having won three games, compared to the Indomitable Lions’ one victory, with five games ending in a draw.
The winner between South Africa and Cameroon will meet either the hosts, Morocco or Tanzania, in a quarter-final showdown on January 9.