It’s the CAN of surprises!
A new contender for final victory fell this Tuesday during the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations.
And not least.
Number one favorite in the competition, Morocco - the first African country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup in 2022 - fell foul of South Africa (0-2) and therefore leaves this CAN through the back door.
It is therefore a new elimination of an African big name after Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana (group stage), Egypt and Senegal, the defending champion, in the round of 16.
It will therefore be Bafana Bafana who will challenge Cape Verde on Saturday evening (9 p.m.) for a place in the last four.
After a well-conducted first round (first in group F, 7 points out of 9), Morocco was unable to overcome the obstacle of a decisive first match.
During a very balanced meeting, the South Africans took the lead at the start of the second half thanks to a clever goal from Magkopa (0-1, 56th).
The Atlas Lions react at the end of the match and benefit from a penalty for a hand fault by Mvala.
But Parisian Hakimi's attempt ends on the crossbar (85th).
In added time, Moroccan defender Amrabat was sent off (90th + 2) then a free kick from Mokoena sealed South Africa's victory (0-2) over the Moroccans.
The latter will therefore not win a second CAN after that of 1976.
At the beIN Sports microphone, coach Walid Regragui immediately assumed his share of responsibility.
“We are very disappointed, we were there to win this competition,” he recalls.
This premature elimination was not planned, this competition is difficult, there are many surprises, we were warned.
We made mistakes that we are not used to making.
I assume my responsibility but also my choices.
We're going to think carefully about what we didn't do well.
We will learn.
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