The group phase of the African Cup of Nations begins to close. The first two zones ended this Monday without surprises and the one who proved it was the host. Morocco scored and took the lead and the pass to the round of 16 another Chilean from Ayoub El Kaabi. The striker scored a goal with the same pirouette in the first game. Aside from that, South Africa He had to suffer to advance to the next level.
In Zone A, the competition’s organizing team only had to add a unit to advance to the round of 16, but because it was among the best on the continent and played in front of its fans, it had the obligation to win. And he did it. Morocco defeated Zambia 3-0 and won their zone easily.
Nine minutes into the first half, they won 1-0 thanks to Ayoub El Kaabi’s goal. At the age of 27, the Spanish-nationalized Moroccan Brahim Díaz of Real Madrid scored the 2-0 equalizer. And when the five minutes of the second period were played, Azzedine Ounahi, after a prepared move, sent a free kick into the middle of the penalty area and found Ayoub El Kaabi alone, who, like against the Comoros in the first game, tried an overhead kick to make it 3-0.
The move had to be checked by VAR due to the striker’s alleged forward position, but minutes later the goal was confirmed. Once again, the striker celebrated his third goal of the tournament with his teammates and the people who filled the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. With this victory, the Walid Regragui-led teams took first place in Zone A and will play against a better third-place team in the round of 16 on January 4th.
The other team to progress was Mali, who took advantage of Zambia’s defeat to secure second place with a 0-0 draw against Comoros.
In group B, with Egypt was already in first place, It remained to be seen who took second place. The Pharaohs drew 0-0 with Angola in Agadir, but at the same time South Africa and Zimbabwe played in Marrakech. Bafana Bafana won 3-2 in a hard-fought game.
They started with a win thanks to Tshepang Moremi’s goal. The rivals equalized with a goal from Tawanda Maswanhise. Lyle Foster gave the South Africans the lead again, but against them Aubrey Modiba provided Zimbabwe with excitement. But shortly before the end, Oswin Appollis made it 3-2 with a penalty and qualified for the round of 16 as second in Zone B. In this context, Egypt will play against another of the best third parties on January 5th, while South Africa will face the runners-up in Group F.
The African Cup of Nations This Tuesday we continue with four more games. Group C is defined at age 13 in Argentina. Uganda will face Nigeria, already top-ranked, and Tanzania will face Tunisia, who are already through to the next round with a draw. From 4 p.m. Zone D will now be closed. Botswana will play the Democratic Republic of Congo, who must win to reach the round of 16, and Benin will play Senegal, who will advance with one point.
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