Afcon roundup: Morocco win keeps host Ivory Coast alive as Tunisia exit
Hakim Ziyech scored in the first half as Morocco beat Zambia 1-0 on Wednesday at the Africa Cup of Nations finals to finish top in Group F and also keep hosts Ivory Coast in the tournament.
Morocco’s stand-in captain left the pitch with an ankle injury at halftime but not before a smart close-range finish in the 38th minute lifted Morocco to seven points, ahead of second placed Democratic Republic of Congo, who drew 0-0 with Tanzania.
Zambia finished third in the group on two points, which was not enough to take one of the four places in the last-16 reserved for the best thirdplaced finishers. Instead the Ivory Coast sneaked in, sparking celebrations in the Laurent Pokou Stadium from locals who had come to support Morocco knowing that if Zambia lost, their team would qualify.
The Congolese finished second in the pool with three points following a trio of draws and advance along with Morocco, who take on South Africa in the next round. It was a game of very few chances for the 12,847 crowd at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium but they could at least celebrate that Ivory Coast had secured a place in the last-16 as one of the best third-place finishers. They will play Senegal on Monday despite sacking their coach, Jean-Louis Gasset.
Earlier, Tunisia limped out of the Africa Cup of Nations after they were held to a 0-0 draw by South Africa in the sweltering heat of Korhogo on Wednesday, a result that sends their opponents into the last 16.
The onus was on Tunisia to make the play as they needed a win to move off the bottom of Group E, but they created very little in the contest and failed to break down a resolute South Africa. Mali top the pool with five points from their three games following a goalless draw with Namibia, with South Africa in second place on four points. Namibia also qualified for the first time as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Tunisia are the third-ranked African side at the tournament in the Ivory Coast behind Morocco and Senegal, but following a shock loss to Namibia in their opening game, they could only manage draws with Mali and South Africa and join Algeria and Ghana as surprise casualties in the pool phase.
Group winners Mali advance to a last-16 meeting with Burkina Faso in Korhogo next Tuesday while Namibia will play neighbours Angola on Saturday. South Africa will play Morocco on Tuesday.