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South Africa at the Africa Cup of Nations

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Although the football team for South Africa participated in the Africa Cup of Nations much later than many African countries (the country was scheduled to participate in inaugural 1957 Africa Cup of Nations but was excluded because of apartheid[1]), as they participated for the first time as host of 1996 edition, South Africa has soon established itself as an emerging African power. The first edition South Africa participated was a complete success, with the team conquered their first, and only African trophy, on their debut.[2][3] Since then, South Africa continues to participate and remains a reckoned force, though success has been elusive since the 2000s. Outside the 1996 edition, South Africa also hosted 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and managed to advance to the quarter-finals.[4] They again reached the quarter-finals in the 2019 edition of the tournament, and finished third at the 2023 tournament.

Overall record

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Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Disqualified due to apartheid
United Arab Republic 1959 Banned
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976
Ghana 1978
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994 Did not qualify
South Africa 1996 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 11 2
Burkina Faso 1998 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 2 1 9 6
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Third place 3rd 6 3 2 1 8 6
Mali 2002 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 2 1 3 3
Tunisia 2004 Group stage 11th 3 1 1 1 3 5
Egypt 2006 16th 3 0 0 3 0 5
Ghana 2008 13th 3 0 2 1 3 5
Angola 2010 Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012
South Africa 2013 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 2 1 5 3
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group stage 15th 3 0 1 2 3 6
Gabon 2017 Did not qualify
Egypt 2019 Quarter-finals 7th 5 2 0 3 3 4
Cameroon 2021 Did not qualify
Ivory Coast 2023 Third place 3rd 7 2 4 1 7 3
Morocco 2025 To be determined
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027
Total 1 Title 11/34 50 18 16 16 55 48
*Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Match history

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Year Date Location Round Opponent Result South Africa scorers
South Africa 1996 13 January 1996 Johannesburg Group stage  Cameroon 3–0 Phil Masinga 15'
Mark Williams 37'
John Moshoeu 55'
20 January 1996  Angola 1–0 Mark Williams 57'
24 January 1996  Egypt 0–1
27 January 1996 Quarter-finals  Algeria 2–1 Mark Fish 72'
John Moshoeu 85'
31 January 1996 Semi-finals  Ghana 3–0 John Moshoeu 22', 87'
Shaun Bartlett 46'
3 February 1996 Final  Tunisia 2–0 Mark Williams 73', 75'
Burkina Faso 1998 8 February 1998 Bobo-Dioulasso Group stage  Angola 0–0
11 February 1998  Ivory Coast 1–1 Helman Mkhalele 8' (pen.)
16 February 1998  Namibia 4–1 Benni McCarthy 8', 11', 19', 21'
22 February 1998 Ouagadougou Quarter-finals  Morocco 2–1 Benni McCarthy 22'
David Nyathi 79'
25 February 1998 Semi-finals  DR Congo 2–1 (a.e.t.) Benni McCarthy 60', 112'
28 February 1998 Final  Egypt 0–2
Ghana Nigeria 2000 23 January 2000 Kumasi Group stage  Gabon 3–1 Dumisa Ngobe 43'
Shaun Bartlett 55', 78'
27 January 2000  DR Congo 1–0 Shaun Bartlett 44'
2 February 2000  Algeria 1–1 Shaun Bartlett 2'
6 February 2000 Quarter-finals  Ghana 1–0 Siyabonga Nomvethe 42'
10 February 2000 Lagos Semi-finals  Nigeria 0–2
12 February 2000 Accra Third place play-off  Tunisia 2–2
(4–3 p)
Shaun Bartlett 11'
Siyabonga Nomvethe 62'
Mali 2002 20 January 2002 Ségou Group stage  Burkina Faso 0–0
24 January 2002  Ghana 0–0
30 January 2002  Morocco 3–1 Sibusiso Zuma 42'
Thabo Mngomeni 48'
Siyabonga Nomvethe 51'
3 February 2002 Kayes Quarter-finals  Mali 0–2
Tunisia 2004 27 January 2004 Sfax Group stage  Benin 2–0 Siyabonga Nomvethe 58', 76'
31 January 2004 Monastir  Nigeria 0–4
4 February 2004 Sousse  Morocco 1–1 Patrick Mayo 29'
Egypt 2006 22 January 2006 Alexandria Group stage  Guinea 0–2
26 January 2006  Tunisia 0–2
30 January 2006  Zambia 0–1
Ghana 2008 23 January 2008 Tamale Group stage  Angola 1–1 Elrio van Heerden 87'
27 January 2008  Tunisia 1–3 Katlego Mphela 87'
31 January 2008 Kumasi  Senegal 1–1 Elrio van Heerden 14'
South Africa 2013 19 January 2013 Johannesburg Group stage  Cape Verde 0–0
23 January 2013 Durban  Angola 2–0 Siyabonga Sangweni 30'
Lehlohonolo Majoro 62'
27 January 2013  Morocco 2–2 May Mahlangu 71'
Siyabonga Sangweni 86'
2 February 2013 Quarter-finals  Mali 1–1
(1–3 p)
Tokelo Rantie 31'
Equatorial Guinea 2015 19 January 2015 Mongomo Group stage  Algeria 1–3 Thuso Phala 51'
23 January 2015  Senegal 1–1 Oupa Manyisa 47'
27 January 2015  Ghana 1–2 Mandla Masango 17'
Egypt 2019 24 June 2019 Cairo Group stage  Ivory Coast 0–1
28 June 2019  Namibia 1–0 Bongani Zungu 68'
1 July 2019  Morocco 0–1
6 July 2019 Round of 16  Egypt 1–0 Thembinkosi Lorch 85'
10 July 2019 Quarter-finals  Nigeria 1–2 Bongani Zungu 71'
Ivory Coast 2023 16 January 2024 Korhogo Group stage  Mali 0–2
21 January 2024  Namibia 4–0 Percy Tau 14' (pen.)
Themba Zwane 25', 40'
Thapelo Maseko 75'
24 January 2024  Tunisia 0–0
30 January 2024 San Pédro Round of 16  Morocco 2–0 Thapelo Maseko 57'
Teboho Mokoena 90+5'
3 February 2024 Yamoussoukro Quarter-finals  Cape Verde 0–0
(2–1 p)
7 February 2024 Bouaké Semi-finals  Nigeria 1–1
(2–4 p)
Teboho Mokoena 90' (pen.)
10 February 2024 Abidjan Third place play-off  DR Congo 0–0
(6–5 p)

Top goalscorers

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Phil Masinga was the first player to score for South Africa at the Africa Cup of Nations (1996). Benni McCarthy was the first and so far only player to score a hat-trick for South Africa at the tournament (1998).

Benni McCarthy is South Africa's all-time top goalscorer at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Rank Player Goals Years (goals)
1 Benni McCarthy 7 1998
2 Shaun Bartlett 6 1996 (1) and 2000 (5)
3 Siyabonga Nomvethe 5 2000 (2), 2002 and 2004 (2)
4 John Moshoeu 4 1996
Mark Williams 4 1996

Squads

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Khaled Abul-Oyoun; Ken Knight; Neil Morrison; Karel Stokkermans (3 October 2013). "African Nations Cup 1957". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. ^ "How Bafana won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations". KickOff.
  3. ^ John, Sivan (12 September 2018). "When football healed a nation: South Africa's 1996 AFCON win". Footy Analyst. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Mali kick Bafana out of 2013 Afcon". SAnews. 4 February 2013.
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