South Africa vs Cameroon: Foster, Mbeumo, Baleba - Premier League firepower takes centre-stage in AFCON last 16

by Devesh Jaganath

image South Africa vs Cameroon: Foster, Mbeumo, Baleba - Premier League firepower takes centre-stage in AFCON last 16
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations has produced some of the highest-quality football seen in the competition’s history, and much of that is attributable to the wealth of talent available to participating nations in this year’s tournament. Here we take a look at some of the potential game-changers for the Round of 16 clash between South Africa and Cameroon.

Foster the Belief: Burnley star to power Bafana’s attack 

Ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Hugo Broos faced criticism around his decision to include only two out-and-out strikers in his AFCON squad, but Lyle Foster certainly proved his doubters wrong during the group stage of the tournament. 

The Burnley attacker has bagged two goals in three matches, but his influence on Bafana Bafana’s attack goes way beyond scoring goals, and our experts are expecting a big performance from him this weekend, according to our South Africa vs Cameroon prediction. 

Foster set the tone with a Player of the Match performance in Bafana’s opening game against Angola, and he has been central to their link-up play with excellent physicality and his ability to hold up the ball and allow those around him to get in behind. 

The 25-year-old’s stats underline his importance, averaging two key passes per 90, and his chemistry with Oswin Appollis in particular has been central to South Africa’s success so far in this year’s tournament.

Appollis has been South Africa’s most dangerous player in Morocco, also with two goals, including netting the winner in a five-goal match of the competition contender against a plucky Zimbabwe. Tshepang Moremi has also been a standout performer for Hugo Broos’ side in Morocco. 

However, while Broos has been fairly content with his side’s attacking performances, he has demanded improvement from his defensive line, which failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their three group-stage matches in the tournament. 

Baleba & Mbeumo: Indomitable Lions’ Premier League pairing

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On Friday, CAF revealed its selection of the best 11 through the group stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and the only player from South Africa or Cameroon to make the cut was the Indomitable Lions’ midfield enforcer, Carlos Baleba. 

The Brighton & Hove man was a physical revelation for his side, and his tireless work rate, powerful runs, and composure in possession were standout qualities that helped the Indomitable Lions to reach the last 16 with an unbeaten record (W2 D1).

Baleba excelled in defensive recovery and driving quick transitions into attack, while his energy, positional awareness and natural ability to sniff out and disrupt opponents' momentum underline his importance to Cameroon’s engine room.

Further upfield, David Pagou is well-stocked in attack, illustrated by the fact that his side’s four goals in the tournament have been scored by four different players, but the creative spark in the team remains Manchester United forward Bryan Mbeumo. 

Mbeumo has not opened his AFCON 2025 account as yet, but he has been central to the Lions’ attacking play, and his quality in possession is unquestionable - which is why the Red Devils coughed up £71m to sign him from Brentford at the start of the 2025-26 Premier League season. 

Both Baleba and Mbeumo were withdrawn at half-time in their final group-stage match against Gabon, which should see them enter this clash well-rested, and against a Bafana defence that has not been at their best in Morocco, the Premier League pair are firmly among those to keep an eye on in Rabat this weekend.