At the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, hosts Morocco eased to a 3-0 victory over Zambia to advance to the last 16 as group winners.
In Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, the Olympiakos’ striker scored in each half in front of 62,532 spectators, while Brahim Diaz from Real Madrid added another goal in the third match in a row.
Morocco moved up from Group A to first place with seven points after winning the first round with two victories and a draw. With a score of 0-0 against Comoros, Mali finished second after a third straight draw.
Therefore, Walid Regragui’s Moroccan side will have the advantage of staying in Rabat on Sunday, January 4 for a last-16 matchup with one of the best third-place finishers.
Achraf Hakimi, the host nation’s captain, made his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in Paris Saint-Germain’s early November game, starting as a second-half substitute. The host nation enjoyed the occasion.
The Atlas Lions’ 19-game winning run came to an end with a 1-1 draw with Mali last time out, but they bounced back and outclassed their Zambian foes.
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According to the FIFA rankings, Morocco leads Africa by 80 spots, overtaking Zambia by 91. In addition to their World Cup qualifying victories, they also won at home and away against the Copper Bullets.
The visitors were also in the difficult position of having to win their final group game in order to advance to the knockout stages, which is a difficult task for a nation that hasn’t won an AFCON championship since 2012 when they lifted the trophy in 2012.
With nine minutes left, Morocco led when Azzedine Ounahi clipped a first-time ball to the back post, where El Kaabi nodded in before fleeing in celebration, covering his face with a smile.
Just before the half-hour mark, Ounahi’s incredible pass released Abde Ezzalzouli after a superb move led to the second goal. El Kaabi squandered his low ball in from the left, but Diaz won the match with a third goal in as many games.
El Kaabi escaped the Zambian offside trap and received another assist from Ounahi with an overhead kick to make it 3-0 six minutes after half-time for Morocco.
El Kaabi joins Diaz and Riyad Mahrez on three goals at the top of the AFCON scorers’ list after the goal was initially rejected for offside before being awarded following a VAR check.
Hakimi’s debut came in the 64th minute to replace Noussair Mazraoui for his first tournament start, and he was only denied entry by a strong save late on from Willard Mwanza, who had already greeted him with a huge cheer.
Source: Channels TV
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