Salah Watches, South Africa Sweat, Angola and Zimbabwe Swing for History
The Africa Cup of Nations never believes in quiet conclusions. Group B at AFCON 2025 is proof of that. On paper, the final matchday looks neat enough. Egypt qualified. Everyone else scrapping. Two matches, one kick-off time, 90 minutes of arithmetic and panic.
In reality, this is a group balanced on instinct, nerve, and one of African football’s oldest truths: the team with nothing left to lose is always the most dangerous.
On Monday, 29 December, at 17:00 local time in Morocco, the group closes with two simultaneous fixtures. Egypt vs Angola in Agadir. South Africa vs Zimbabwe in Marrakech. The permutations are sharp, the margins thinner than they look, and the psychological pressure unevenly distributed.
Egypt arrive calm. South Africa arrive tense. Angola and Zimbabwe arrive swinging.
The Table Before the Storm
Heading into the final round, AFCON Group B stands like this:
- Egypt – 6 points (already qualified as group winners)
- South Africa – 3 points
- Zimbabwe – 1 point
- Angola – 1 point
Egypt are untouchable at the top. Everyone else is scrambling for one remaining automatic qualification place, or hoping to squeeze through as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams.
This is where AFCON becomes less about form and more about nerve.
Egypt: Salah’s Kingdom, Rotation on the Horizon
Egypt have done exactly what favourites are supposed to do. Two wins. Six points. Control without chaos.
Their final group match against Angola at the Grand Stade d’Agadir is, technically, a dead rubber. Practically, it isn’t. Not at AFCON. Not with pride involved.
Mohamed Salah has already left fingerprints all over this group. Two goals, constant gravity, the same familiar pattern of defenders collapsing toward him like moths toward a stadium floodlight. Egypt’s attack still bends around Salah, still waits for him to decide when the moment arrives.
But this final fixture is likely to look different.
Coach Hossam Hassan has openly suggested rotation. Egypt do not need maximum points. They already hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over South Africa thanks to a narrow 1-0 win. Even a loss would not cost them first place.
The objective now is preservation. Legs rested. Cards avoided. Rhythm maintained without risk.
There is one complication. Mohamed Hany is suspended after his red card against South Africa, forcing a reshuffle in defence. Against an Angola side playing for survival, that matters.
Egypt’s target is simple: finish with a 100 percent record if possible, but more importantly, exit the group unscathed.
Angola: One Door, Barely Open
For Angola, there is no ambiguity. No arithmetic safety net. No polite scenarios.
They must beat Egypt.
Anything less ends their tournament.
The Angola fixtures list this one in red ink. The Palancas Negras arrive bottom of the group with one point, knowing that even victory may not be enough unless results elsewhere fall their way.
If Angola defeat Egypt and South Africa lose to Zimbabwe, the group turns upside down. Angola and Zimbabwe would then be tied on four points. Their head-to-head finished 1-1, meaning qualification would be decided on goal difference.
That is the margin Angola are playing for.
Their hope rests largely on Gelson Dala, the forward who has been directly involved in six of Angola’s last eleven AFCON goals. Dala is not subtle. He is not decorative. He is direct, aggressive, and utterly uninterested in narratives about Egypt’s rotation.
This is a striker who smells opportunity.
Angola will not try to dominate Egypt. They will try to disrupt them. Break rhythm. Turn rotation into hesitation. Force mistakes from players trying to impress rather than conserve.
AFCON history is littered with “meaningless” group games that turned into statements. Angola are chasing that kind of night.
South Africa: Control or Collapse
No team in Group B carries more psychological weight than South Africa.
On paper, their situation is straightforward. Avoid defeat against Zimbabwe and they qualify automatically for the knockout rounds. A draw is enough. A win seals it.
And yet, South Africa soccer has never been about comfort.
This is a side that knows how quickly narratives flip. A loss would leave them stranded on three points, forced into the anxious waiting room of the best third-placed teams. Sometimes that door opens. Often it slams shut.
The “Limpopo Derby” against Zimbabwe is not a friendly regional affair. It is emotional, physical, and historically volatile. South Africa are unbeaten against their neighbours since 2013, but streaks mean nothing in a must-win context.
Their foundation is Ronwen Williams, one of the finest goalkeepers on the continent and winner of the 2023 Golden Glove. Williams is not just a shot-stopper. He is South Africa’s emotional anchor. When games tighten, his calm becomes contagious.
Further forward, Lyle Foster and Oswin Appollis carry the attacking responsibility. Foster’s physical presence and Appollis’ movement offer balance, but this is not a side built to chase games recklessly.
South Africa’s dilemma is philosophical. Do they manage the draw, or do they go and kill the game?
AFCON punishes passivity. But it also punishes panic.
Zimbabwe: Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain
Zimbabwe arrive in Marrakech with the lightest baggage and the heaviest ambition.
One point from two games does not sound threatening. Context changes everything.
If Zimbabwe beat South Africa, they leap to four points and immediately enter the qualification conversation. Depending on the Angola result, they could finish second outright or qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.
It would also mark Zimbabwe’s first ever progression to the AFCON knockout stages. That history matters. It sharpens belief.
Their leader remains Knowledge Musona, now 35, still dangerous, still clever enough to hurt teams who underestimate him. Musona does not rely on pace anymore. He relies on timing, positioning, and moments of chaos.
There is concern at the back. Teenage Hadebe is likely absent through injury, a blow against South Africa’s physical forwards. Zimbabwe will compensate the only way underdogs ever do: numbers, intensity, and refusal to accept the script.
Zimbabwe’s message is simple. Pressure is not theirs to carry.
The Mathematics of Fear
AFCON group finales are not decided by form alone. They are decided by clocks, radios, and whispered updates from the other stadium.
South Africa know that if Angola score early against Egypt, tension will infect Marrakech instantly. Zimbabwe know that every minute Angola stay level keeps hope alive.
Egypt know that their choices affect the entire group.
This is why simultaneous kick-offs exist. And this is why they never fully work.
Players feel the table shift even without seeing it.
What Each Team Must Do
Egypt
- Rotate without losing structure
- Avoid injuries and suspensions
- Use Salah selectively, decisively
South Africa
- Score first, remove ambiguity
- Trust Williams when pressure arrives
- Do not manage the game too early
Zimbabwe
- Turn the match into a fight
- Target transitions, not possession
- Believe that history can bend
Angola
- Attack Egypt’s rotated defence
- Play for margin, not just victory
- Force Egypt into mistakes, not patterns
Final Whistle Energy
This is the beauty and cruelty of AFCON group football. Egypt sit comfortably, watching the chaos they helped create. South Africa balance qualification against fear. Zimbabwe and Angola chase history knowing one bad moment ends everything.
Musical chairs, yes. But with floodlights, national pride, and 90 minutes of truth.
When the final whistles blow in Agadir and Marrakech, Group B will not be remembered for its table. It will be remembered for how close everyone came to the edge.
And for how Salah, even when resting, still loomed over it all. 🦅⚽
doragon sports 