Zambia capped off a happy day for southern Africa by defeating Ivory Coast 3-0 in Ndola to win a berth in the finals for the first time since 2015.
South Africa vs Morocco, Meanwhile, South Africa’s Percy Tau celebrates his goal with teammates at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on June 17, 2023, during the second leg of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (CHAN) Group K qualifying match between South Africa and Morocco.
Morocco suffered a 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations qualification setback in South Africa on Saturday due to a gaffe by goalkeeper Munir el Kajoui, their first defeat since reaching the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.
Zambia capped off a happy day for southern Africa by defeating Ivory Coast 3-0 in Ndola to win a berth in the finals for the first time since 2015.
South Africa and Morocco have qualified ahead of a tense Group K clash in Johannesburg, which drew a 50,000 crowd despite near-freezing temperatures.
El Kajoui, who was filling in for the rested Yassine Bounou, let a Percy Tau cross slide through his grasp and into the net after only five minutes, and Zakhele Lepasa added a second on 48 minutes.
On the hour, Hakim Ziyech cut the deficit in half, but Morocco failed to equalize after becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in December.
Following their fourth-place performance in Qatar, the Atlas Lions defeated Brazil and drew with Peru and Cape Verde in friendly matches. The trip to Johannesburg signaled a return to competitive play.
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“We could have scored four or five goals against Morocco, who are currently the best team in Africa, and it is a great confidence booster to beat them,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said.
“After playing in front of small crowds recently, it was fantastic to have so many people cheering us on, and I believe they left the stadium feeling very proud to be South Africans.”
Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who oversaw victories over Belgium, Spain, and Portugal before falling to France in the semi-finals in Qatar, said he was;
“Not unhappy with the result.”
“Call me crazy if you want, but sometimes a loss teaches you more than a win.” “After a long season of domestic and World Cup matches, my players were exhausted.”
Zambia, which needed one point to break a run of three failed qualifying campaigns, won all three as they outplayed the Ivory Coast, which will host the finals from January 13 to February 11.
After shocking the Ivorians by winning the 2012 final, Zambia plummeted, failing to get past the group stage in the next two editions.
Worse was to come for the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets), who failed to qualify for the next three tournaments.
But those tragic memories were erased in front of a 50,000-strong audience as Zambia won its fourth consecutive Group H match.
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Serge Aurier gave up an own goal after 32 minutes, Patson Daka doubled the advantage three minutes later, and Kings Kangwa capped the thrashing after 55 minutes.
Ivory Coast, the two-time champion, automatically qualifies as hosts but competes in the qualifiers to obtain competitive match preparation.
Central African Republic’s chances of making their debut at the African Cup of Nations are all but dead after a 2-1 defeat to Angola in Douala.
Felicio Milson scored in the 86th minute to sink the minnows after Geoffrey Kondogbia had scored just after halftime to cancel out Kialonda Gaspar’s early lead for Angola in the Group E battle.
? RESULTS ?
Here’s how Saturday’s #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 games panned out ✅
give me this french pic.twitter.com/NkNohwCCxf
— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 17, 2023
The Central Africans, who were playing in Cameroon due to a lack of an international-standard venue, were reduced to ten men on 70 minutes when goalie Dominique Youfeigane was sent off.
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Equatorial Guinea defeated Tunisia 1-0 at Malabo to become the 10th qualifier following Ivory Coast, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia.
Emilio Nsue converted a late penalty for Equatorial Guinea, who would have qualified from Group J regardless of the outcome because Libya lost 1-0 in Botswana.
AFP