Afcon roundup: Morocco held by DR Congo, 10-man Zambia deny Tanzania
Morocco scored early but the pre-tournament favourites had to share the points in a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Africa Cup of Nations Group F clash on Sunday.
Achraf Hakimi scored in the sixth minute for Morocco, whose run to the semi-final of the World Cup in Qatar 14 months ago has made them the team to beat at the tournament in Ivory Coast. But the Congolese squandered a firsthalf penalty before substitute Silas Katompa swept home a deserved 76thminute equaliser at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.
The result denied Morocco a chance to qualify early for the last 16 but they have four points which should be enough to progress while DR Congo have drawn their opening two matches.
Hakimi’s goal came from a corner, that was delayed for four minutes while the Kenyan referee Peter Waweru sorted out a faulty headset that would allow him to communicate with the other match officials. Congo were caught cold when the corner was finally taken, with the ball being missed by several defenders before the Paris Saint-Germain right back volleyed it home from close range.
There were three good chances for Morocco in a dominant opening 10 minute spell but DR Congo worked their way into the contest and had a golden opportunity for an equaliser when a VAR check showed Selim Amallah had elbowed Henock Inonga on the side of the head as the two rivals went up for a corner.
Cedric Bakambu hit a poor penalty on the outside of the bottom of the upright.
The Congo captain, Chancel Mbemba, came close from a corner soon after half-time but it took until the last quarter-hour of the game for the equaliser. Meschack Elia pulled back the ball perfectly for Silas to time his run and equalise.
Patson Daka scored a late equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw for 10-man Zambia and deny opponents Tanzania a first Group F win on Sunday.
Simon Msuva’s 11th-minute strike handed Tanzania the lead at the Laurent Pokou Stadium and put them on course for their first win at the finals after they started their campaign with a 3-0 loss to Morocco, but Daka’s explosive header in the 88th minute ensured a share of the spoils.
Tanzania had failed to win on their previous finals appearances in 1980 and 2019 and were not given much chance at the tournament in Ivory Coast, especially after coach Adel Amrouche was handed an eight-match suspension on Friday.
He was found guilty by the Confederation of African Football of insulting previous opponents Morocco in a TV interview, accusing them of manipulating referees among other allegations, and was later suspended by Tanzania, effectively ending his tenure. But with interim coach Hemed Suleiman at the helm, Tanzania showed no signs of any disruption and went ahead when they stole possession, allowing Mbwana Samatta to feed Msuva for a shock goal.
Zambia battled hard to try to get into the game and could have been level had Fashion Sakala not headed wide from point-blank range in the 31st minute. But they suffered a major setback when captain Roderick Kabwe was sent off before half-time for a second cautionable offence in what looked a harsh decision.
Despite the disadvantage, Zambia looked the more enterprising in the second half but left it late to level, with Leicester City’s Daka racing in at the near post and rising high to attack the ball and glance it into the net.
South Africa cruised to a 4-0 win over Namibia to get their campaign
back on track. After going down 2-0 to Mali in their opener, Bafana Bafana got off the mark at the second attempt as Themba Zwane hit two after Percy Tau’s early penalty, with Thapelo Maseko adding a fourth in the second half.
Namibia started brightly but Prins Tijueza shot straight at goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. Momentum shifted when, after a long VAR check, South Africa were awarded a penalty for a handball by Riaan Hanamub as he challenged Thapelo Morena.
Tau, whose penalty miss proved costly against Mali, took responsibility again and this time made no mistake with a low, powerful strike into the right-hand corner. Namibia’s Absalom Iimbondi then poked over from right in front of goal and four minutes later South Africa doubled their lead, with
Morena pulling the ball back from the byline for Zwane to apply a lovely finish, sending the ball just inside the post.
Sphephelo Sithole headed narrowly over, but Zwane all but sealed the win with five minutes of the first half still left, cutting in from the left and shaping to bend the ball beyond Lloyd Kazapua. And substitute Maseko struck the fourth in the 75th minute, breaking the offside trap before hitting a shot that was too hot to handle for Kazapua.