Easy winner of Zambia (3-0), Morocco reached the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations. The real competition begins on Sunday for the Atlas Lions.
Under pressure in front of its public, Morocco did not deviate from its status as favorite for CAN-2025 by outclassing Zambia (3-0) to finish first in its group and advance to the round of 16, Monday in Rabat. After an inaugural victory against the Comoros (2-0) and a disappointing draw against Mali (1-1), the semi-finalists of the last World Cup were under great pressure during the final day of Group A.
Not essential to validate qualification, victory was imperative for coach Walid Regragui, a recurring target of criticism from supporters of the Cherifian kingdom, host country of the competition. To calm things down, Regragui decided to start Achraf Hakimi, his captain injured since November 4 and preserved during the first two matches. The Paris-SG full-back came into play in the 64th minute and quickly showed his legs with an outside foot deflected at the last minute by Zambian goalkeeper Willard Mwanza (81st).
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Hakimi entering and on legs
The Atlas Lions had already folded the match anyway. First after a diving header from Ayoub El-Kaabi (9th), before Brahim Diaz doubled the lead (27th). Scorer in each of the three group matches of a CAN, the Real Madrid player matched the performance of Moroccan legend Ahmed Faras, African Golden Ball in 1975 who died last July.
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In the den of the Prince Moulay Abdallah stadium, songs, loupiotes and giant ola greeted the Lions’ whirlwind performance against the Zambian Chipolopolos (literally “copper balls”) with very heavy legs.
The highlight of the show was a returned scissors from El-Kaabi (51st), which sheltered the Moroccans and allowed the Olympiakos striker to become joint top scorer in the competition with his teammate Diaz and the Algerian Riyad Mahrez (three goals).
Sunday in 8th against a better 3rd
With seven points, Morocco finished in first place in Group A, far ahead of Mali (3 pts), which was held to a 0-0 draw by the Comoros on Monday in Casablanca. A third consecutive draw for the Eagles (after their 1-1 against Zambia and Morocco), however sufficient to reach the round of 16.
For this new phase of the knockout competition, Morocco will play on Sunday against the best third in group C, D or E. Mali will face the second in group C on Saturday, which notably includes Tunisia and Nigeria.
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