Foster Urges Bafana To Shift Focus To World Cup After AFCON Exit

Bafana Bafana attacker Lyle Foster has urged the team to put their Africa Cup of Nations elimination behind them and shift their focus to the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

After reaching the last 16, Bafana Bafana were knocked out of the 2025 AFCON by Cameroon, who secured a 2-1 victory at Al Medina Stadium on Sunday.

The Burnley forward admitted the disappointment of an early exit but believes the team must regroup and move forward.

“It’s tough — obviously not the result we wanted,” Foster told SABC Sport.

“I think everyone is disappointed, and we just need to process it and go through it. We can take a lot of positives from the tournament and focus on the upcoming games in March, and then, of course, the World Cup in June.”

Foster, who scored twice for Bafana Bafana during the tournament, added that the team delivered a strong tactical performance against the Indomitable Lions.

“I think we did really well. We started the game strongly, and tactically, the way they played, we matched them and probably surprised them a bit. That’s why we were able to create so many chances,” he said.

“I think we were in the game the whole time, and honestly, across the rounds, we were probably the better team. They scored a goal out of nothing from a corner kick and then got a second right after halftime, which obviously hurt us. After that, it became a fight to get back into the match.

“Again, you look back and say ‘could have, should have’, but it didn’t happen. We scored one late on, but maybe it was just a little too late.”