AFCON 2023: Morocco v South Africa, one last quarter-final spot up for grabs
AFCON 2023: Morocco face South Africa on Tuesday, with both sides competing for a place in the quarter-finals
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After Mali v Burkina Faso in the opener on Tuesday 30 January, the day's closing game is a cracking clash between Morocco and South Africa at the Laurent Pokou stadium in San Pedro. With Sudan's Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail officiating, the stakes will be high. The two nations are fighting for a place in the quarter-finals of AFCON 2023. On paper, the Atlas Lions go in as favourites. Even so, they will need to be careful. This year's tournament reminds us in every game that being favourites doesn't count for much. Big names such as Cameroon, Senegal, Algeria and Egypt have already gone out. Walid Regragui is well aware of that. "It's a knockout game. It's a change of competition. We can't afford any mistakes. So far, what we're doing is good but we want to do better. We have a lot of respect for South Africa. They're the last team to have beaten us on the continent. We're not in a favourable position, which is why I'm insisting on humility from my group", he said at his press conference.
So, caution. All the more so because, as he pointed out, South Africa are the only team to have beaten Morocco in Africa in 2023 (2-1), in a match counting towards qualification for AFCON 2023. What's more, Bafana Bafana have everything needed to cause the Moroccans problems: pace in offensive transitions, technical quality and a great ability to combine and play one-touch football.
A head-to-head record in South Africa's favour
Historically, the two nations met eight times before this AFCON 2023. South Africa are ahead with 3 wins, against 2 for Morocco, with 3 draws. Indeed, the first time the Moroccans beat the South Africans was at AFCON 2019 in Egypt (1-0). Then came the 2-1 win on the road to the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire. However, in the return fixture, Bafana Bafana won 2-1 in June 2023.
Hugo Broos hopes his players can draw inspiration from the last meeting between the two teams. "We already beat Morocco last June. We want to repeat that feat tomorrow, but we have to reach a high level to do it and create a huge number of chances", he said first of all to the press. He also said he wants to wrap up the game within 90 minutes. "With the heat, we hope to settle things in our favour in normal time. If we go to extra time, it will be difficult. We'll do everything we can not to go beyond normal time". The winner of this tie will face Cape Verde in the quarter-finals, after Cape Verde beat Mauritania.