Bafana Bafana during a past training sesssion/HANDOUT

South Africa star Teboho Mokoena believes luck was not on their side as Bafana Bafana lost 2–1 to Cameroon to exit the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 in Morocco on Sunday.

Despite a promising start in the opening quarter of the game, Bafana Bafana were unable to bury their chances. Cameroon went on to open the scoring in the 34th minute before bagging a second goal just two minutes into the second half.

The 1996 hosts and champions managed to halve the deficit with two minutes to go, but it was too late to mount a possible comeback.

Speaking to the written press after the exit, Mokoena lamented missed chances and bad luck as the reasons for their downfall, insisting the focus must now shift to the FIFA World Cup, set for June in North America.

“We just needed luck,” said Mokoena. “We couldn’t score our goals. We were the better team and created more chances. It was unfortunate we didn’t win.

“The World Cup is coming in June and we will build from here,” added the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder.

South Africa, who will play Mexico in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026, alongside South Korea and UEFA Play-off D winners, had beaten Zimbabwe 3–2 and Angola 2–1, while losing 1–0 to Egypt in group stage matches played in Marrakech.

Head coach Hugo Broos expressed frustration at Bafana Bafana’s failure to convert chances, which he believes changed the course of the game.

“I think we started very well and had chances to score. If we score, I think we will never lose the game. I was happy with what we brought in the first half, but then we go into the second half and concede after only a few minutes, which is a pity.

“After half-time, you concede the second goal so quickly and that takes the wind out of you. But we kept fighting. We had chances to score for 2–1 earlier and maybe push for a second, but in the last 10 minutes they just kicked the ball forward and defended well. It’s a disappointment for all of us, but I can’t be unhappy with the performance we showed today.”

Cameroon will face hosts Morocco on Friday in Rabat at 10pm.