Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend Salomon Kalou reiterates his 'dark horses' tip for Bafana Bafana 2025 AFCON glory

The 40-year-old former has been back in the limelight in recent weeks after being announced as an analyst for SuperSport's 2025 AFCON coverage and joining Duelbits as Football Ambassador for the tournament.

On both occasions he was asked his opinion on which countries were in the best place to win the tournament outright, and on both occasions he revealed that South Africa have what it takes to go on and win their second ever AFCON title.

When asked on his weekly blog for Deulbits who his dark horse for the tournament was, he replied, "I’ve said South Africa, and I’ll stick with Bafana Bafana."

"They’re great odds on Duelbits, and they have the spirit to shock people."

However, Kalou did go on to caveat his dark horse pick by saying, "There are always many contenders at AFCON."

"Morocco as hosts are worthy favourites, but losing Hakimi is a big blow. 

"Egypt have Salah, but he hasn’t been at his usual level for Liverpool.

"Algeria look strong and balanced. 

"Nigeria didn’t make the World Cup, but with Osimhen firing, plus Lookman, Iwobi, and Chukwueze all in form, they can beat anyone.

"It’s wide open, and that’s what makes AFCON so special," Kalou concluded.

In early November when Kalou was announced as an analysist for SuperSport's AFCON coverage he was also very complimentary about Bafana and their chances at the tournament.

"The last Afcon, how they played, and went all the way to the semifinal, nobody expected them to be there,” he told The Sowetan at the time.

“If they can build on that, you get confidence in the team that qualified for the World Cup and have momentum. They’re a nation that is progressing; they have young talent and have players who were there before and also have a good coach [Hugo Broos]. Now, it is to find the balance between young and experienced players and create a great team.”

“I think Bafana Bafana are getting back to the level that they showed us.

“We know football here is big, and there are clubs with big programmes for youth academies. 

"You know, it starts with the youth tournament. That’s how you develop local football, and I think SA is doing that very well.

“I won’t be surprised to see them go far in the Afcon because in the previous edition, they did very well in the Ivory Coast, and they were the surprise team. 

"I will be putting my money on SA because they can again be the major surprise for this competition,” he concluded.

With domestic football having gone on hiatus to allow Bafana players time to train in the national team camp, the next time we see a ball kicked in anger will be South Africa's opening Group B match against Angola on Monday, December 22.

The fate of Bafana's AFCON aspirations will likely be decided in their second group match on December 26 when they take on Mo Salah's Egypt. The winner will likely top the group and find themselves with an easier draw in the knockout rounds.

Bafana's third group match is against neighbours Zimbabwe on December 29.