South Africa earned a well-deserved 2-0 win over pre-tournament favourites, Morocco to advance to the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
A neat finish from Evidence Makgopa and a stunning free-kick from Teboho Mokoena condemned 10-man Morocco to a shock defeat. The Atlas Lions had progressed into the round of 16 scoring five goals in all three group stage matches but failed to find the back of the net in the crucial knockout fixture. Walid Regragui’s men had a chance to level matters in the 85th minute but defender, Achraf Hakimi saw his penalty rattle off the woodwork while midfielder, Sofyan Amrabat was dismissed in stoppage time. The loss means none of the continent’s top 5 teams – Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt – will feature in the quarterfinals of this year’s competition. In a similar vein, none of the quarterfinalists from the AFCON 2021 will feature in the quarterfinals of this year’s edition, once again underlining the unpredictability of the 2023 AFCON thus far.
The win over Morocco is yet another impressive feat for South Africa in what is becoming a memorable AFCON outing; Hugo Broos’ men have recorded their largest-ever win at the tournament in this year’s edition. The 1996 champions will take on the unbeaten Blue Sharks of Cape Verde for a semifinal berth. Bafana Bafana have scored 6 goals in 4 games while conceding 2 goals while Cape Verde have scored 8 goals and conceded 3 goals in 4 matches. The quarterfinal matchup between both sides should provide for an entertaining fixture filled with attacking displays and stunning goals.
Morocco will rue their profligacy in front of goal, especially with the more clinical duo of forward, Sofiane Boufal and winger, Hakim Ziyech missing out due to injuries. Amine Adli, Selim Amallah and Azzedine Ounahi were the biggest culprits as they failed to hit the target when presented with great goalscoring chances. South Africa’s defensive stalwart, Mvala also intervened twice in blocking the fierce shots of Hakimi and Adli. Morocco’s long wait for a first Africa Cup of Nations title since 1976 will linger until 2025 the earliest, when they host the continental showpiece.
