Thanks to a dream goal, hosts Morocco confidently moved into the round of 16 at the Africa Cup as group winners. The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists beat Zambia 3-0 (2-0) in their preliminary round and remain unbeaten in the tournament.
Ayoub El Kaabi made it 3-0 with an unchallenged overhead kick from eleven meters in the 50th minute – he had already scored in this spectacular way in the opening game. The professional soccer player from Olympiakos Piraeus (9th) also gave Morocco the lead against Zambia, the other goal was scored by Brahim Díaz from Real Madrid (27th).
Hakimi returns after almost two months
Top star Achraf Hakimi from Paris Saint-Germain was substituted on after an hour to great cheers. The defender made his comeback from an ankle injury sustained by Bayern Munich’s Luis Díaz in the Champions League in early November.
Morocco, co-host of the 2030 World Cup, is one of the big favorites for the title at the home tournament. The fans are expecting the country’s second triumph in the continental championship after their debut victory in 1976. In the parallel game, Mali held 0-0 against the Comoros to advance as second in Group A. Mali’s Amadou Haidara from RB Leipzig saw the red card shortly before the end for a foul with a stretched leg.
Egypt spares Salah
In Group B, South Africa made it into the round of 16 with a 3-2 (1-1) win against Zimbabwe. Erzgebirge Aue’s Jonah Fabisch’s dream of advancing also ended with the outsiders.
Group winners Egypt ended the preliminary round with a 0-0 draw against Angola. After two previous wins, the title contender was able to rest superstar Mohamed Salah from Liverpool FC as well as former Frankfurt player Omar Marmoush.