South Africa’s senior national team, Bafana Bafana, has progressed to the knockout phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

However, head coach Hugo Broos has admitted he is concerned after the team conceded four goals in three matches to finish runners-up behind Egypt in Group B.

Broos was speaking in Marrakech, Morocco, where Bafana Bafana beat Zimbabwe 3-2 on Monday to confirm their spot in the Last 16.

“The match was under control until the moment we scored. After that, we repeated the same mistakes as in previous games: poor passing and bad positioning. For the first goal, a player goes past three or four of our defenders without being properly challenged,” noted the Belgian.

“When you defend like that, you concede goals in every match. In the second half, we dominated again and scored, but we were no longer able to keep the ball, and we gave the opponent opportunities in transition. I like attacking football, but football is also about defending well.”

Bafana Bafana will meet the runners-up from Group F in the Last 16 in the capital Rabat on Sunday, 4 January. That could be the defending champions, Ivory Coast, Cameroon or Mozambique.

Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Morocco, Sudan, Senegal, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso and Mozambique have secured their spots in the knockout phase, while there are two places remaining.