Oswin Appolis of South Africa during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations training session for South Africa at Annex Marrakesh Stadium, Morocco on 21 December 2025 ©Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Thursday Dec 25, 2025. 14:00
Egypt and South Africa will slug it out in a heavyweight Group B bout at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), set for the Adrar Stadium in Agadir on the late afternoon of Friday 26 December.
Egypt, record seven-time champions of the AFCON, needed an injury-time winner from talisman Mohamed Salah to overcome a determined Zimbabwe 2-1 in their Group B opener in Agadir on Monday night.
The Pharaohs looked in trouble for most of the match after the Warriors claimed a shock 20th minute lead via Prince Dube, but a superb equaliser from Omar Marmoush midway through the second half laid the platform for the Liverpool star to decide the game in added time.
“Opening games are always difficult,” noted Egypt coach Hossam Hassan. “The most important thing is winning these matches and securing the three points, and our performance in the upcoming matches will improve for the better. From now on, we are preparing for the South Africa match. I thank all the players for their efforts in the game.”
SA opened their AFCON campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Angola in Marrakesh on Monday, with goals from Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster.
Bafana Bafana were outplayed by the Palancas Negras in the first half, but in the second stanza they upped their game and ultimately secured a deserved victory which has put them in a great position to secure progression beyond the group stage of the AFCON for an eighth time.
“Egypt are next and [they] will be at another level,” explained South Africa coach Hugo Broos. “But maybe those games are more [suitable] for us. Angola are not a team we know much about. It was also our first game in the tournament and we are still working out where we are good and where we are not. Now we know what we have to do. We showed it in the second half [against Angola] and we will try to do it against Egypt. Not losing will be a good result.”
Including all friendlies and two African Nations Championship (CHAN) playoff qualifiers (which are not technically ‘A’ level fixtures), South Africa have won eight of 14 matches against Egypt, with two draws and four defeats making up the balance of results.
The teams’ most recent ‘A’ level meeting was in the Round of 16 in the 2019 AFCON, with Bafana Bafana claiming a famous 1-0 triumph which knocked the Pharaohs out of their own host tournament.