Morocco missed the chance to secure a place in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations after Lassine Sinayoko’s second-half penalty gave Mali a 1-1 draw with the hosts on Friday.
He … The match was decided by two penalties: Brahim Díaz gave Morocco the lead in first-half stoppage time and Sinayoko equalized in the 64th minute.
The draw at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital, Rabat, ended Morocco’s record winning streak, which had reached 19 with its 2-0 win over Comoros in the tournament’s opening match.
It also means Morocco have yet to confirm their place in the second round, despite leading Group A with four points from two matches.
Mali follow with two points, alongside Zambia, who drew 0-0 against lowly Comoros earlier in Casablanca. Morocco face Zambia next Monday and a win in that match against the 2012 champions will ensure the hosts qualify as group winners.
However, the fact that the four best third-placed teams from the six groups progress to the next phase means that the tournament favorites remain in a very good position, even if they have struggled to impose their authority against an uncompromising Malian team.
Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi, voted Africa’s best player of the year, was once again a non-playing substitute as he continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered while playing for Paris Saint-Germain in early November.
With Hakimi on the bench and Kylian Mbappé in the stands as a luxury observer, the main attraction on the pitch was for the Frenchman’s Madrid teammate, Brahim Díaz. The little number 10 forced Malian goalkeeper Djigui Diarra to make a good save in the 17th minute and then played a key role in the penalty which led to the first goal just before the break.
Malian defender Nathan Gassama touched the ball with his hand while trying to stop Díaz from dribbling it inside the area, and the referee ended up awarding a penalty after carefully consulting the VAR monitor located next to the playing field.
Moroccan Soufiane Rahimi missed a penalty against Comoros, but this time Díaz deceived the goalkeeper and scored his second goal of the tournament.
However, Walid Regragui’s team, the best in Africa according to the FIFA rankings, could not take the lead as Mali were awarded a penalty just after the hour mark.
Sinayoko went down after a clumsy tackle by Jawad El Yamiq and 29-year-old Cameroonian referee Abdoul Abdel Mefire awarded a penalty after being called to check his screen.
Auxerre striker Sinayoko, who had apparently received a warning for a statement to the referee, remained calm to convert the penalty and restore the tie.
Former Sevilla player Youssef En-Nesyri, replacing on Friday, saw Diarra deny him a goal with a fine save and Mali held on for 10 minutes of added time to take a point, while the final whistle was received to boos from the home fans.
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