Benni McCarthy Risks Wrath of South Africans as He Snubs Bafana Bafana in His AFCON 2025 Picks

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy does not believe that his county South Africa are capable of winning the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Bafana Bafana have been improving under veteran Belgian coach Hugo Broos, who guided them to third place at AFCON 2023, had them qualify for the 2025 edition, and recently sealed their place at the 2026 World Cup for the first time since 2002.

However, even with these improvements, McCarthy still feels there are other teams ahead of them who stand a better chance of winning AFCON 2025 which will take place in Morocco between December 21 and January 18.

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“In qualifying [for 2026 World Cup], I faced Ivory Coast once and I think they’ve got a really good squad,” McCarthy told Best Betting Sites.

“They have decent players. They’ve got Amad Diallo, as well, as part of their team. They look really strong, they look good, and they could have a say in this African Nations Cup,” added McCarthy on what makes the African champions tick.

The Harambee Stars boss has also picked AFCON 2025 hosts Morocco to claim the trophy on home soil, a title that has eluded them since 1976.

“When you look on paper and you see the strength and depth in each squad, I’m leaning more towards the host, Morocco,” he said.

“I think Morocco is a formidable squad. You know, they’re strong and they’ll have the backing of all the fans, the passionate Moroccan fans that will fill the stadiums for every match. I think the hosts Morocco; it looks like they could take it.”

The former AmaZulu and Cape Town City coach is wowed by the giant strides made by Morocco in football development after the country just won the U20 World Cup last week, reached AFCON U20 final while the senior team became the first African nation to make it to the World Cup semi-final in 2022.

“And if you look now in modern-day football, Morocco’s under-20 national team is in the final at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile. They’ve just reached the final,” he said.

“So the trajectory of Moroccan football is really on the up. The Olympic team got into the semi-final of the Olympics. There’s something that Morocco is really doing well. Morocco will be my favourites to win the tournament.”

It remains to be seen how McCarthy’s picks perform but South Africa already had one over Morocco when they knocked them out of AFCON 2023 at the Round of 16.