Egyptian football icon Mohamed Aboutrika happy to see Bafana Bafana's downfall as Al Ahly legend 'wanted South Africa to be eliminated' from 2025 AFCON

Bafana Bafana lost 2-1 to Cameroon in a 2025 AFCON last-16 showdown to bow out of the tournament at Al Medina Stadium on Sunday.  

An unconvincing performance, marked by wasting several chances, ended South Africa's campaign.  

Before the match against the Indomitable Lions, Bafana coach Hugo Broos made some remarks complaining about the tournament vibe and logistics. 

 "There is no typical AFCON vibe. I don't feel it here," said Broos.

"It was chaos before the game.  They blocked everyone, even people with tickets.  

"They couldn't enter the stadium because there was a crowd of people who didn't have a ticket and who were allowed to come in."

Broos' utterances sparked a reaction from former Egypt playmaker Mohamed Aboutrika, who has been bold about his feelings towards South Africa. 

“Cameroon played three very tough matches in the group stage, and their coach knows exactly what he is doing,” Aboutrika said. 

“South Africa’s only real tough test in the group stage was against Egypt. I wanted South Africa to be eliminated from the tournament because of the statements made by their coach, Hugo Broos. He is arrogant and his comments are provocative.    

“Everyone praised the stadiums, but he was the only one who criticised them.  The style he wants to play is above the level of his players. You are not Spain. He needs to focus more on defensive balance," added the Pharaohs great," he added.

“Cameroon had problems before the tournament, especially after failing to qualify for the World Cup. But Cameroon has a great legacy in Africa, just like Egypt.”  

Bafana forward Lyle Foster feels Lady Luck deserted them because they were the better side on the pitch

“We had early chances, we could have converted but maybe just a bit unlucky,” said Foster on SABC Sport as per iDiski Times.

“I think we did really well and maybe that played a part in the game. We should have gone up, but we were just unlucky.  

“We’re here now, we just need to focus, try and regroup, get together again and try and go over things. 

"We started the game well and tactically, we matched the way they played, we surprised them," added the Burnley forward.  

“We were able to create chances. I think we were in the game the whole time and to be honest, all around, we were probably the better team.  

“They just scored a goal from nowhere and then another one in the second half which hurts a bit.”

In his post-match of Bafana's run at AFCON, Broos admits that his side failed to match the team that won bronze in Ivory Coast, but dismisses the notion that they have regressed.

“We have not gone backwards. I agree that in some games the performance of the team was not at the level of South Africa that everyone knows," he said.

“But you can’t say that today. Sometimes you need a bit of luck on your side. Two years ago in the quarterfinal against Cape Verde, ten seconds before the end Ronwen [Williams] made a fantastic save or we would have lost.   

“Today we didn’t have luck. In the first half we had three clear chances. Normally, the game would be done by them … and we paid the price with a lucky goal," the former Cameroon coach added. 

"A corner was headed out, the guy shoots, it hits our player’s leg, the ball comes to the feet of the Cameroon players and he can score. First we need to make an evaluation and look at what the problems were or the good things were.   

“Then we will see what we need to change or not, because in six months we have the World Cup and we need to be ready for that,” he concluded.