South Africa booked a place in the AFCON last 16 in dramatic fashion after Oswin Appollis converted a late penalty to hand Bafana Bafana a 3-2 victory over Zimbabwe in Marrakesh on Monday, leaving their neighbours to rue another familiar tale of promise without payoff.

Bafana Bafana must now wait until Wednesday to discover their round-of-16 opponents, with defending champions Ivory Coast or five-time winners Cameroon looming, a step up from a Zimbabwe side that once again fell short when it mattered.

Egypt, resting key stars including Mohamed Salah with qualification already sealed, topped Group B with seven points after a dull 0-0 draw against Angola in Agadir.

South Africa finished with six points, while Angola settled for two and Zimbabwe slumped to one, their tournament ending with more frustration than fight. Angola could still sneak through as one of the best third-placed teams.

“Once again, we fell asleep after a good start. We continuously lost possession,” admitted 73-year-old South Africa coach Hugo Broos, whose blunt honesty contrasted sharply with Zimbabwe’s silence.

“Our passing was bad at times, and we should have concentrated on retaining possession in the closing minutes instead of seeking a fourth goal. We have to work on controlling games,” Broos added, even in victory, refusing to paper over cracks.

In Marrakesh, CAF president and South African native Patrice Motsepe was among a small but vocal crowd that saw Bafana Bafana assert early dominance.

Zimbabwe goalkeeper Washington Arubi flirted with disaster in the sixth minute, reacting late to Appollis’ low drive and only just preventing early humiliation.

Moments later, resistance crumbled as rising star Tshepang Moremi struck, his effort deflecting cruelly off Divine Lunga and looping over the helpless 40-year-old Arubi.

Falling behind jolted Zimbabwe into life, and they briefly clawed back pride when Tawanda Maswanhise, of Motherwell, produced a moment of individual brilliance to level the score, a flash of hope that ultimately went nowhere.