South Africa in 'Group Like South Korea' Has Lower Odds Of Nations Cup Than World Cup Eliminated Teams

*This content was translated by AI.

At the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup, the South African national football team, which belongs to the same group as South Korea, had a lower chance of winning the 2025 African Cup of Nations at 1.82 percent. It is only the 10th team to reach the round of 16, and even lower than the teams that failed to qualify for the World Cup Africa.

According to the probability of winning the Africa Cup of Nations, updated by soccer statistics media Opta on the 2nd (Korea time), South Africa decreased by 0.13%p from 1.95% the previous day to 1.82% the previous day. The fact that the team that reached the round of 16 has a less than 2% chance of winning can also be interpreted as a significant drop in objective power compared to other teams. Morocco (22.87 percent) has the highest chance of winning the tournament, followed by Senegal (14.47 percent), Algeria (13.77 percent), Egypt (13.08 percent), Nigeria (10.43%) and Ivory Coast (7.25%).

South Africa, ranked 61st in the FIFA rankings, won 2-1 against Angola (ranked 89th) in the group stage and lost 0-1 against Egypt (35th), which played throughout the second half amid a numerical advantage. Later, in the final match against Zimbabwe, they won 3-2 after a slugfest, advancing to the round of 16 as second place in Group B. Zimbabwe are ranked 129th in the FIFA rankings, but South Africa managed to win the match thanks to the winning goal of a penalty kick following an opponent's handball foul. This is also the background of not receiving much attention in this tournament, even though he ranked third in the previous tournament.

It is also unclear whether the team will pass the round of 16 immediately. South Africa will compete with Cameroon for the quarterfinals at Almedina Stadium in Morocco at 4 a.m. on the 5th. Cameroon is a 57th-ranked team with a FIFA ranking four places higher than South Africa, but it is a team that is not able to play in the North American World Cup because it was eliminated from the African qualifying round. South Africa is inferior to the previous record with three wins, five draws and five losses. Opta predicted a 41.1 percent chance that South Africa will beat Cameroon to reach the quarterfinals. Cameroon has 58.9 percent. Football Meets Data, another statistical media outlet, predicted the possibility of advancing to the quarterfinals with 53% in Cameroon and 47% in South Africa, respectively. Even if they reach the quarterfinals, they are likely to meet Morocco, a strong favorite for this tournament.

In particular, it is notable that the South African power is considered lower than the teams that failed to advance to the North American World Cup finals among the teams that reached the round of 16 in this tournament. Nigeria, ranked 38th in FIFA rankings, has a 10.43% overall probability of winning, and South Africa has a lower probability of winning than teams that failed to qualify for the World Cup, such as Cameroon (4.58%) and Mali (3.63%, FIFA (53rd).

There is a possibility of a turnaround in the rest of the tournament, but some say that it is not enough to be wary of South Africa's performance in the last group stage. Even in South Africa, there are concerns about defense instability. Hong Myung-bo's national team coaches and analysts have been dispatched to Morocco, where the tournament will be held, to analyze South Africa's history. Hong Myung-bo will face South Africa in the final Group A match in North American World Cup. It is the first time that they have faced off each other.

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*This content was translated by AI.