December 29, (THEWILL) — South Africa punched their ticket to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Zimbabwe 3-2 in a Group B encounter at the Marrakesh Stadium on Monday evening.
Bafana Bafana finished second in the group behind Egypt and will face the runner-up from Group F on January 4 in Rabat.
Tshepang Moremi opened the scoring in the seventh minute when his shot-cross deflected off Divine Lunga past goalkeeper Washington Arubi.
Tawanda Maswanhise equalised for Zimbabwe in the 19th minute with a skilful dribble and low drive beyond Ronwen Williams.
Lyle Foster restored South Africa’s lead five minutes into the second half, heading into an empty net after latching onto a poor back header from Lunga.
Zimbabwe thought they had salvaged a point when Aubrey Modiba inadvertently turned the ball into his own net in the 74th minute following Williams’s save from Maswanhise’s shot.
Munashe Garananga had earlier squandered a golden opportunity just before the interval, heading over from an unmarked position following Jonah Fabisch’s free-kick delivery.
The match turned decisively in the 82nd minute when Marvelous Nakamba was penalised for handball in the penalty area after a VAR review. Oswin Appollis converted the spot kick confidently, striking into the bottom corner to make it 3-2.
Coach Hugo Broos introduced Bathusi Aubaas at half-time to provide additional midfield stability, whilst Zimbabwe made a triple substitution on the hour mark.
The Warriors continued their unfortunate record of group stage elimination in all their AFCON tournament appearances, finishing bottom of Group B.
South Africa’s opponents in the round of 16 will be one of the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, or Mozambique. Zimbabwe threatened late in the match but could not find another equaliser despite their attacking intent.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
