Junior Chamadeu and Christian Cofane scored on either side of half-time as the Indomitable Lions defeated their last-16 encounter 2-1 and Cameroon advanced to the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals at the expense of South Africa.
Chamadou opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Rabat’s Al Medina Stadium on Sunday, before teenage Bayer Leverkusen forward Kofane headed home the decisive second goal two minutes after half-time.
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Evidence Makgopa pulled South Africa’s late rally to a point, but it was Cameroon who advanced. The five-time champion will face host Morocco in the heavyweight quarterfinals on Friday.
Morocco will be able to go into the match in a relaxed mood knowing all the pressure is on them as they aim to win their first AFCON title in 50 years in front of their home crowd.
For Cameroon, reaching the last eight means AFCON has already been a success after a chaotic build-up that saw Football Federation president and Indomitable Lions legend Samuel Eto’o sack coach Mark Bliss and replace him with David Pagou.
The new coach defeated South Africa’s Hugo Bruce, who had promised to show no mercy to Cameroon, nine years after leading Cameroon to their last continental title at the Nations Cup in Gabon.
Bafana Bafana, who finished third in the last AFCON in Ivory Coast two years ago, will be very disappointed but can console themselves by looking to the upcoming World Cup.
Still, South Africa had chances to take an early lead and Lelebohile Mofokeng squandered a golden chance within seven minutes.
Cameroonian defender Che Malone was unable to deal with a simple ball to the forward, leaving Mofokeng in goal, but the Orlando Pirates forward caught fire.
Lyle Foster then put the ball in the goal, but it was denied by the offside flag and Cameroon took the lead just after the half-hour mark instead.
When the South African defense could only partially clear a corner kick, the ball fell to Carlos Baleva on the edge of the area.
He took a touch and attempted a shot, but it was deflected into the path of Chamadou and Stoke City’s London-born full-back rolled into the goal from close range.
The goal, confirmed after a lengthy VAR check, was celebrated by Cameroonian fans, who made up the majority of the 14,127-strong crowd, including two-time AFCON champion Eto’o.
South Africa were hoping for a strong start to the second half, but instead Cameroon scored again within two minutes of the restart.
Substitute Mahamadou Nagida delivered a cross from the left, which Kofane headed in for his second goal of the tournament.
Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epathy then made a good save from Samukele Kabini’s shot and Teboho Mokoena’s free kick, and in the 88th minute Makgopa’s fellow substitute Aubrey Modiba turned in a low cross.
It was a grandstand finish, but Cameroon held on despite being nervous.
Morocco and Tanzania see off
Earlier on Sunday, Brahim Dias scored his fourth goal for Morocco in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, helping the hosts advance to the quarter-finals with a tense 1-0 victory over Tanzania in the Round of 16 in Rabat.
Morocco dominated possession, but Tanzania also had chances and needed a fine strike from Dias to seal their place in the last eight.
In the 64th minute, captain Achraf Hakimi fed Dias on the right side of the box and the Real Madrid playmaker advanced to the goal line before firing a shot into the goal from an angle when a cross was expected.
Morocco squandered several other chances, but Tanzania were also lucky to squander them, with Simon Mousbah and Faysal Salum missing crucial chances for the East Africans, making the score 0-0.
It’s a far cry from the home side’s old performances and they haven’t quite hit top gear in the tournament yet, but they’ve performed well enough to keep their campaign on track.
“The competition is fierce and we played against the toughest opponent in the Tanzanian team,” Diaz said.
“I know that not everything went well, but fortunately we were able to qualify (to the next round) and now we will get back to work fully prepared for the quarter-finals.”
