Ivory Coast legend Solomon Kalou believes Bafana Bafana can make a big impact at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after being the surprise package in his home nation.
Bafana secured third place in West Africa in the 2023 edition of the Nations Cup and breezed through qualification for Morocco 2025, added to their first successful qualification for the FIFA World Cup since 2002.
Kalou, who is now among the ambassadors for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was recently in South Africa for the TV rights deal announcement with Canal+ and SuperSport for the continental event and backed Bafana for another impressive tournament.
“It’s very difficult to say [who will win AFCON] like I said there’s no more small teams, so I want to say the big countries like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Morocco – but there’s always some surprises,” he explained.
“I think South Africa is coming back – they are doing very well, they have qualified for the World Cup, the Bafana Bafana are coming back to the level they usually showed us, football here is big as well, with big clubs, with big programs for youth, academies.
“With these tournaments, leagues in youth, that’s how you develop your local football, South Africa is doing very well, and I won’t be surprised to see them going far in the AFCON – last one they did very well, the surprising team in Ivory Coast. I would be putting my money for South Africa – they can be the surprise package.”
The former UEFA Champions League winner with the Blues went on to state that the landscape of continental football has changed dramatically since his time – noting there’s no longer one-sided games.
“That’s football now, it’s changing [in Africa] there’s no more small teams, you see like Lesotho, they have players who are in the South African Premier League, maybe we don’t know them, but they have that quality to be playing there,” Kalou explained.
“So, when they go to the national team and they play Ivory Coast for example, people expect us to win three or four, but these are talented players – and this is what football is in Africa, there’s no more small teams. Equatorial Guinea beat Ivory Coast 4-1 at AFCON at home.
“I think we have to know football is changing, every country tries to bring their best program for the youth and that’s how one day we’re probably win the World Cup.”
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