Hugo Bruce led Cameroon to the 2017 AFCON title, but there is no room for sentimentality towards the South African team.
Published January 3, 2026
South Africa coach Hugo Bruce has promised “no mercy” to Cameroon, who face his former club in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
The Brus will lead Bafana Bafana to Rabat’s Al Medina Stadium against the side he led to an unexpected AFCON victory in Gabon in 2017.
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“Tomorrow’s match is definitely a special one for me. If you win against any country in the AFCON, that part of the country will stay in your heart, but tomorrow I can’t show them any mercy, because I’m the coach of South Africa now and I want to win the game,” the Belgian Blues told reporters in the Moroccan capital on Saturday.
“They’re a very good team, a young team, a good fighting spirit and a good mentality. That means if we want to beat them, we have to be at our best.”
Cameroon picked up seven points in the group stage in Morocco, despite a chaotic run up to the tournament, when they could have taken nine points.
Manager Mark Bliss was sacked by Football Federation president and indomitable Lions legend Samuel Eto’o just weeks before the opening game, with David Pagau appointed as his replacement.
“We would have liked to play against Cameroon in the final, but it might be a little too early now,” Bruce said.
“I was interested to see Cameroon with a much changed team, but I was surprised. They didn’t have much time to prepare, but the coach did a good job. It will be a difficult game for us.”
He added: “Tomorrow will be relentless! That’s for sure. We have to win that game, that’s all that matters.”
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Meanwhile, the 73-year-old expressed anger at tournament organizers who forced his team to train at the Moroccan national team’s facilities, a 45-minute drive from their hotel in Rabat.
The team that wins on Sunday will face Morocco in the quarter-finals if the hosts defeat tied outsider Tanzania in the last 16.
“I don’t understand why CAF (Confederation of African Football) would allow something like that. I have to say that because it makes me unhappy,” Bruce complained.
Having qualified for this year’s World Cup, Bafana Bafana will be hoping to at least equal a semi-final appearance at the last Nations Cup, to be held in Ivory Coast in 2024.
However, their coach admits that could be a tall order given the depth of quality left in the competition.
“When I came here, my ambition was to do at least as well as I did two years ago, but I said this tournament would be more difficult.
“In the last AFCON, a lot of big teams were eliminated early, but this time we’re all here. That means it will be much more difficult to get to the finals, or even the semi-finals, but our ambition remains the same.”
