RABAT, Morocco (AP) — South Africa coach Hugo Broos isn’t getting that usual Africa Cup of Nations feeling in Morocco.
Broos, who led Cameroon to the title in 2017 in Gabon and took South Africa to third place at the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, said Sunday there was a lack of enthusiasm for the 35th Africa Cup.
“In the Ivory Coast and in Gabon, every second of the tournament you felt that you were in a tournament,” Broos said. “The people were – when we went with the bus to train – the people were waving and they were with flags, and here you see nothing. So, I don’t know, but yeah, there is no vibe, there is no typical AFCON vibe. I don’t feel it here.”
The Belgian coach was speaking in Marrakech ahead of South Africa’s final group game against Zimbabwe on Monday. The Bafana Bafana opened with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Angola in Marrakech and then lost 1-0 to Egypt in Agadir.
Egypt is already through to the last 16 from Group B with a maximum six points from two games. It is followed by South Africa on three while Angola and Zimbabwe each have a point.
Angola plays Egypt on Monday and the top two progress from each group, along with the best third-place finishers.
Organizers have struggled to fill stadiums and the weather hasn’t helped. There has been heavy rainfall every day of the tournament, except for Thursday when there were no games on the Christian holiday of Christmas Day. Morocco is a predominately Muslim country.
The tournament was originally scheduled for the summer, but it was pushed back to winter so it wouldn’t clash with FIFA’s new Club World Cup played in the United States.
Even Morocco games, which were all sold out, have featured empty seats with touts blamed for snapping up tickets, frustrating fans’ efforts to get access to the near 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, where the home team is playing all its group games.
Security at other stadiums has allowed fans free entrance after kickoff to increase attendance. It has led to supporters without tickets waiting outside on the assumption they will be allowed in.
“Nobody came to see the game South Africa-Angola,” Broos said after criticizing the arrangements for his team’s subsequent match against Egypt. “It was chaos before the game ... they blocked everyone, even people with tickets. They couldn’t enter in the stadium because there was a crowd of people who didn’t have a ticket and who were allowed to come in.”
Broos praised the “nice stadiums” – all nine were newly constructed or renovated for the tournament – but said the atmosphere at the 2025 Africa Cup was uncharacteristically “cool.”
“If they don’t let the people free in the stadium, there is nobody,” he said. “Nobody is coming to watch the game South Africa-Zimbabwe."
Morocco is also a co-host for the 2030 World Cup.
AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
A general view of the Tangier Grand Stadium is seen during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and Botswana in Tangier, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
South Africa's head coach Hugo Broos sits on the bench ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
It's crunch time for a host of Bundesliga players with ambitions of playing at the World Cup.
Bayern Munich 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl is fighting to keep his spot for Germany, Deniz Undav's scoring streak for Stuttgart has put pressure on coach Julian Nagelsmann to take him to the U.S. in June, and Alejandro Grimaldo's form for Bayer Leverkusen could help him earn a spot for Spain.
Oh, and there's still a title to be won.
Bayern comes back into action after the international break with a vast 11-point lead over Borussia Dortmund. If Bayern wins its next two games and Dortmund loses both, the title could be Bayern's as soon as April 11.
Dortmund heads to Stuttgart needing points to keep pace with Bayern. Stuttgart's third, chasing Champions League qualification, and with a host of players chasing World Cup spots for Germany like Undav, Angelo Stiller, Jamie Leweling and Chris Führich. Dortmund's Carney Chukwuemeka's just made his Austria debut, too.
The tasks for Bayern at Freiburg on Saturday: Take care of business and avoid any more injuries ahead of next week's Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid.
Eintracht Frankfurt's World Cup hopefuls have a lot to aim for, even if the team doesn't in seventh place with a big gap to the European places. Hosting Cologne on Sunday is a chance to impress for players like Japan winger Ritsu Doan, who captained his country against England, Germany defender Nathaniel Brown and Belgium center back Arthur Theate.
Undav is a hot topic in Germany after scoring seven goals in Stuttgart's last six Bundesliga games and the winning goal in Germany's friendly win over Ghana on Monday. He's the second-highest scorer in the league but Nagelsmann still sees him as a bench option despite the up-and-down Germany form of Newcastle's Nick Woltemade.
The uncertain fitness of Jamal Musiala has opened up space for youngster Karl to impress for Bayern, and now for Germany, too. He combined well with Florian Wirtz on debut in last week's 4-3 win over Switzerland. Bayern teammate Serge Gnabry's stock for Germany is also rising.
Grimaldo played the full 90 minutes of Spain's 0-0 draw with Egypt and the Leverkusen left back returns to his club to push for Champions League qualification. That starts with hosting relegation-threatened Wolfsburg on Saturday.
He's not confirmed out just yet but the “minor issue” that ruled Harry Kane out of England's friendly loss to Japan could be a concern for Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
Bayern's goalkeeping situation remains a concern, too. Manuel Neuer has been working his way back to fitness after not playing since March 6 and stand-in Jonas Urbig had a setback when a knee injury forced him out of Germany's squad.
It's the first game of a new era at Dortmund after Ole Book replaced Sebastian Kehl as sporting director. The future of defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who has a year left on his contract, is as unclear as ever.
The Easter holidays in Germany mean a tweak to the Bundesliga schedule. Instead of the usual Friday game, there are seven on Saturday and two on Sunday.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Lennart Karl of Germany and Derrick Kohn of Ghana challenge for the ball during an international friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Scorer Deniz Undav of Germany celebrates after winning an international friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
