Bafana Bafana: heading for glory at last

By Destine Nde

The world was stunned when, during the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, Cameroon beat Argentina 1-0. This was the first time an African country had ever won a game in the World Cup, and first time in 14 years in which an African team had progressed beyond the elimination stage.

This remarkable and inspiring performance is still remembered today. Argentina was the defending champions, and their game against Cameroon was the opening match of the tournament. The odds were similar to that of David versus Goliath. It got worse in the first halt, and even worse for a while in the second. Because Cameroon had to prevent world-class strikers like the legendary Diego Maradona from scoring, they conceded a red card in each half.

Finishing with only nine players against 11 far better ones, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon shocked the world with a 67th minute header goal by Francois Omam-Biyik. Maradona was dismayed. He could not believe what had happened, so he asked for a world map to find out where Cameroon was located.

But that was not all:  After that Cameroon beat Romania, drew with the Soviet Union, and qualified for the round of 16 as winners of group B. They then beat Colombia 2-1 to proceed to the quarterfinals.

Both of Cameroon’s goals were scored by Roger Miller. He celebrated by dancing at the corner post, an act which every African football-lover still recalls with a smile. After this Cameroon lost narrowly to England 3-2, in an even more thrilling and closely contested encounter than the previous ones.

At 47, Roger Miller, Cameroon’s top scorer, was the oldest player in the tournament, yet his performance is still one of the best ever, and he set the record as the oldest scorer in a FIFA World Cup tournament.

Cameroon’s performance was a breakthrough for African football on the world stage. Their achievement killed many unpleasant stereotypes that were still being invoked about Africa at the time, and inspired youngsters in many more African countries to aspire to a career in soccer. Before this, and for about a decade afterwards, it was considered a terrible waste of time and potential for any boy, not to mention a girl, to pursue soccer as a career.

In 1994 in the US, the Super Eagles of Nigeria tried to emulate Cameroon’s performance, but were eliminated in the round of 16.

In 2002, in the tournament played in Korea and Japan, the Lions of Senegal made it to the quarterfinals, beating France 1-0 in the group stage and Sweden 2-1 in the round of 16. But Turkey then beat them 1-0.

The 2010 tournament in South Africa was another historic moment for Africa, with Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal reaching the quarterfinals. Ghana had beaten Serbia and the US, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Uruguay in a controversial manner.

In 2022 Morocco broke new ground by reaching the semi-finals, beating Belgium 2-0, Canada 1-0, Spain 1-0 and Portugal 2-1, but then lost to France by 0-2.

Bafana Bafana

But what about South Africa? From 1961 to 1992, South Africa was first suspended and then expelled from FIFA due to racial segregation in sport, which stunted the growth of the domestic game. In 1991, when the transition to democracy began, a new non-racial governing body, the South African Football Association (SAFA), was formed and readmitted to FIFA.

South Africa made their FIFA World Cup debut in France in 1998, with their first match against the host nation in Marseille. Bafana kept France to a 1-0 lead until the final quarter hour when France scored two late goals for a 3-0 win.

Though Bafana didn’t make it out of the group stages, they at least managed to appropriate two points, drawing 1-1 with Denmark and 2-2 with Saudi Arabia, with the iconic Benni Mc Carthy scoring South Africa’s first World Cup goal.

In 2002, Bafana had a poor run. In 2010 they had a brilliant, very positive start at home, with Siphe Tshabalala scoring the tournament’s opening goal for South Africa against Mexico. It was an incredible strike, from about 25 metres outside the box, a stunning goal and euphoric moment for South Africa.

Bafana Bafana has won the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) only once, in 1996, when South Africa hosted the tournament. In this they rank far below giants like Egypt, with an impressive seven titles to their name, Cameroon with five, Ghana with four, and Nigeria with three.

However, South African teams have improved constantly in recent years. Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates are now top contenders in the CAF Champions League alongside legendary clubs like Al Ahly SC and Zamalek of Egypt, TP Mazembe of Congo and Experance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia. Currently, Mamelodi Sundowns is the second best performing club in Africa.

South Africa performed extremely well in the 2023 AFCON held in Ivory Coast, finishing third. They have also already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, emerging as winners of group C, ahead of African giants like Nigeria and Benin – the first time they have done so in 23 years.

Therefore, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, Senegal, Ivory Coast and the DRC will represent Africa in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico from 11 June onwards.

Added to this, Bafana Bafana is one of the favourites for the 2025 AFCON, which kicks off in Morocco on 21 December. On Saturday 16 November, they delivered a stellar performance against Zambia in a preparatory match, defeating them 3-1 in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Five top performers in the PSL seem sure of a starting place in the World Cup: the always trustworthy goalkeeper and captain, 33-year-old Ronwen Williams; veterans Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Teboho Mokoena; and the youngsters Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster.

The bulk of the international players are from Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, with relatively few or even none from the legendary Kaiser Chiefs.

An exhilarated Hugo Broos After Bafana Bafana qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by beating Rwanda 3-0 in the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga on 15 october 2025.

Part of Bafana Bafana’s current success is undoubtedly due to their current coach. After a number of patchy years in which coaches came and went, they have since 2021 been coached by Hugo Broos, a Belgian who has coached other great teams like Cameroon. Asked for the reason for their new-found success, he simply says: ‘Because I want to win, and that’s all.’

Broos is poised to ‘propel Bafana Bafana to glory in Morocco’. In fact he has even been quoted as saying he would resign if South Africa failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.

Sports academies

Another reason for Bafana Bafana’s improvement is the fact that South Africa has some of the best sports academies in the world, where youngsters are trained from childhood to professional level. This system has guaranteed a steady supply of fresh talent for the top divisions, and from there to the national team.

At this time, fans are generally very satisfied with Bafana’s performances, and hopes and expectations are running high. For the first time in two decades, they feel, South Africa is among the best countries in Africa, and is playing to its potential at last.

Indeed, at this point, Bafana Bafana has won or drawn its last 20 matches – a truly impressive achievement. For some time now, the Springboks have filled South Africans with joy and pride. It seems as if Bafana Bafana may finally start doing the same.

Featured image: Bafana Bafana and its coaching team before its match against Zambia in Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on 15 November 2025. The midfielder Teboho Mokoena (centre) won his 50th cap for this international friendly. All images: SAFA website.