Egypt rest Salah in Angola draw, Morocco win group and South Africa reach AFCON last-16
by AFP · The42LAST UPDATE | 3 hrs ago
AFCON Results
- Angola 0-0 Egypt
- Zimbabwe 2-3 South Africa
- Comoros 0-0 Mali
- Zambia 0-3 Morocco
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OSWIN APPOLLIS CONVERTED a late penalty to give South Africa a 3-2 Africa Cup of Nations victory over Zimbabwe in Marrakesh on Monday, and qualification for the knockout stage.
Egypt, who rested stars like captain Mohamed Salah with first place already assured, topped Group B with seven points after a 0-0 draw against Angola in Agadir.
Bafana Bafana must wait until Wednesday to know who they will face on Sunday in the round of 16. It is likely to be either defending champions Ivory Coast or five-time winners Cameroon.
South Africa finished behind Group B winners Egypt with six points, Angola two and Zimbabwe one. Angola could squeeze into the knockout stage as one of the best four third-placed teams.
In Marrakesh, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president, South African Patrice Motsepe, was among a small but boisterous crowd that saw Bafana Bafana establish an early foothold.
Zimbabwe goalkeeper Washington Arubi reacted late to a low sixth-minute shot from Appollis and grasped the ball just before it crossed the line.
A minute later and South Africa were ahead thanks to rising star Tshepang Moremi in the clash of southern Africa neighbours.
The ball was played across the pitch just outside the box to Moremi. He unleashed a goal-bound shot that took a deflection off Divine Lunga and looped over 40-year-old Arubi into the net.
Falling behind motivated Zimbabwe and they deservedly levelled on 19 minutes thanks to the individual brilliance of Tawanda Maswanhise from Scottish Premiership club Motherwell.
Maswanhise gained possession inside the South African half, dribbled past two opponents and fired the ball wide of captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams into the far corner.
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The equaliser rattled South Africa. Bronze medallists at the 2024 AFCON, they were fortunate not to fall behind as the match reached the half-hour mark.
A Zimbabwe free-kick was floated into the goalmouth and unmarked Munashe Garananga should have done better than head over from close range.
South African frustrations at being unable to dominate flared just before half-time. Already-cautioned Sipho Mbule argued with the Moroccan referee, risking another yellow card and a red.
As was the case in the first half, South Africa began the second period aggressively. They regained the lead on 50 minutes through Burnley striker Lyle Foster.
The Premier League player raced after a headed back pass to slow-reacting Arubi, then outjumped the veteran goalkeeper to nod the ball into the net.
It was the second goal of the tournament for the 25-year-old after his winner against Angola. He is the only South African currently playing in a major European league.
Maswanhise was a constant threat and came close to scoring again midway through the second half. He bent a shot from the edge of the box on to a post.
After soaking up pressure for some time, Zimbabwe equalised on 73 minutes when Aubrey Modiba conceded an own goal.
A superb long pass from substitute Tawanda Chirewa found Maswanhise, whose shot was parried by Williams. The ball rebounded, struck Modiba and rolled into the net.
Appollis then netted from an 82nd-minute penalty to give Bafana the lead for the third time, which they successfully retained.
Meanwhile, Ayoub El Kaabi scored twice as hosts Morocco eased to a 3-0 victory over Zambia to secure progress to the last 16 as winners of their group.
The Olympiakos striker netted in each half in front of 62,532 fans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat, while Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz got the other goal as he scored for the third match running at the tournament.
Morocco finish the first round with two wins and a draw, allowing them to progress from Group A in first place with seven points. Mali finished second after a third straight draw, 0-0 against Comoros.
Walid Regragui’s Moroccan side will therefore have the advantage of staying in Rabat for a last-16 clash against one of the best third-placed finishers on Sunday, January 4.
A comfortable evening for the host nation also saw captain Achraf Hakimi, the African player of the year, come on as a second-half substitute for his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in action for Paris Saint-Germain in early November.
The Atlas Lions had seen their world record 19-match winning run come to an end in a 1-1 draw with Mali last time out, but bounced back from that by outclassing their Zambian opponents.
Morocco are Africa’s best side according to the FIFA rankings and lie 80 places above Zambia who are 91st. Their record winning run included victories home and away against the Copper Bullets during World Cup qualifying.
The visitors were also in the unenviable position of needing to win their last group game to be sure of going through to the knockout phase — a tough task for a country without a single AFCON victory since lifting the trophy in 2012.
Morocco went ahead with just nine minutes on the clock when a corner from the right was played short to Azzedine Ounahi and he clipped a first-time ball to the back post where El Kaabi nodded in before running away covering his face in celebration.
A superb move led to the second goal just before the half-hour mark, with Ounahi’s fantastic pass in behind the Zambian defence releasing Abde Ezzalzouli. His low ball in from the left was missed by El Kaabi but Diaz swept home for a third goal in as many matches.
Morocco made it 3-0 six minutes after half-time as El Kaabi escaped the Zambian offside trap and met another assist from the brilliant Ounahi with an overhead kick.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside before being awarded after a VAR check, allowing El Kaabi to join Diaz and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez on three goals atop the AFCON scorers’ chart.
A huge cheer then greeted Hakimi when he came on in the 64th minute in place of Noussair Mazraoui for his first appearance of the tournament — he was only prevented from getting on the scoresheet by a good Willard Mwanza save late on.