Morocco secured a 1-0 victory over South Africa in their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group D match at the Al Salam Stadium in Egypt on Monday evening.

The victory saw the Atlas Lions advance to the knockout stages as group winners.

Bafana Bafana finished third in the group and they could still progress to the Round of 16 if the results in other groups go their way.

Bafana Bafana and the Atlas Lions both struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening stages of the encounter.

Morocco were without their captain Medhi Benatia, who had been rested, but Romain Saiss looked solid at the heart of the team’s defence.

The England-based defender made a crucial interception in the box in the 14th minute following a good move by South Africa duo Thamsanqa Mkhize and Thulani Serero.

Both teams grew in confidence as the match progressed and Percy Tau’s shot from outside the box narrowly missed the target just after the half-hour mark.

Almost immediately at the other end, Youssef En-Nesyri forced South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams into a low save with a powerful shot.

The two teams then pushed for the opening goal, but they could not find the back of the net in the first half and the score was 0-0 at halftime.

South Africa threatened first after the restart as Mkhize’s powerful low shot went inches wide of the target in the 48th minute after he was set-up by Themba Zwane.

Morocco also came very close to scoring when Achraf Hakimi cut inside and he unleashed a thunderous effort which hit the crossbar with Williams well-beaten.

The Atlas Lions were the better side in the closing stages of the game and Wiliams had to make a good save to deny En-Nesyri with 15 minutes left.

Morocco’s pressure paid off as Mbark Boussoufa pounced inside the box and he fired past Williams in the 90th minute to hand the Atlas Lions a 1-0 win over South Africa.

South Africa 0

Morocco (0) 1 (Boussoufa 90′)

South Africa: Williams; Mkhize, Hlanti, Mkhwanazi, Hlatshwayo, Mokotjo, Zwane (Vilakazi 75′), Zungu (Kekana 80′), Serero, Mothiba (Veldwijk 72′), Tau.

Morocco: Munir, Mazraoui (Dirar 75′), Da Costa, Saiss, Hakimi, El Ahmadi (Ait Bennasser 54′), Boussoufa, Ziyech (Fajr 89′), Belhanda, Amrabat, En Nesyri.

Here’s the moment that #BafanaBafana hearts were broken as Morocco score a 90th-minute winner which ensures the Atlas Lions and Ivory Coast advance to the AFCON round of 16. For South Africa, it’s the waiting game now… pic.twitter.com/cY1VDFFs7R— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) July 1, 2019

An avalanche of criticism is only to be expected for Nigeria who are still battling to find their rhythm at the Africa Cup of Nations, captain John Obi Mikel said after Sunday’s shock loss to Madagascar.

The 2-0 defeat meant Nigeria were forced into second place in Group B and could now be up against fellow heavyweights Ghana in the next round.

Madagascar’s victory was one of the great shocks in the tournament’s history and has not gone down well with Nigerian supporters.

“Obviously, the criticism will come from our people that we love. But this is football, you are going to get criticised. We have to take the criticism and improve,” Obi Mikel said.

“We didn’t play well and I think that in the tournament so far we haven’t really found our way to play,” he added.

It’s do or die for most teams today as they look to secure a spot in the knockout stage.#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/yEwp2IfzZs— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) July 1, 2019

“But we’ve won two games and lost one now. It’s better this happened now than in the knockout stages. Now we know as a team we have to improve, we have to do better.”

A defensive error allowed Madagascar to grab the early lead and a wicked deflection from a free kick gave them a second goal early in the second half against a Nigeria side who had already secured qualification and were experimenting with their line-up

“It’s normal to change the team as we were already qualified and we have 23 squad members and a lot of them deserved to play,” coach Gernot Rohr added.

“We wanted to give some rest to some of them since we had qualified before the game so I think in the mind of some players, it was not so important to win.

“But the beginning of the match, the gift for the first goal made Madagascar very strong and I have to say they deserved the victory, with their counter football and very good defensive organisation. We couldn’t find solutions,” the Nigeria coach said.

Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says he expects to have both midfielder Dean Furman and right-back Thami Mkhize fit to face Morocco in Monday’s crucial Africa Cup of Nations clash in Cairo.

Defensive midfielder Furman, the most experienced member of the squad, missed the 1-0 win over Namibia last time out through injury, while Mkhize picked up a concussion in the match and had to be replaced.

“The team feels a bit settled. The players are believing; Dean trained on Saturday and is looking fine while Thami Mkhize’s concussion is OK,” Baxter told reporters.

It’s do or die for most teams today as they look to secure a spot in the knockout stage.#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/yEwp2IfzZs— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) July 1, 2019

Both will likely line-up against Morocco, where a point should be enough to see Bafana into the second round as one of the best third-placed sides. A win would certainly do the trick, though they may yet finish third still if Ivory Coast defeat Namibia as expected.

Baxter says his side feel more confident after having had two games under their belt, and will improve as the tournament goes on.

“Morocco were strong against Ivory Coast, have a very experienced team and will be a tough opponent for us. But we feel that we are settling more and more into a good rhythm and we feel we can give a good game,” he said.

“The players are quite confident and the preparations have been going quite well. We were a bit late with our preparations because of some cancelled games so these games in the tournament are actually bringing us closer together to where we want to be.

“We are quite confident,” he added.

Guinea-Bissau will face off with Ghana in their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group F match at the Suez Stadium in Egypt on Tuesday.

Kick-off is at 6:00 pm CAT.

The African Wild Dogs boosted their hopes of advancing to the Round of 16 by holding Benin to a 0-0 stalemate in their second group match on Saturday.

The draw saw Guinea-Bissau remain fourth on the group standings with one point and they could go through as one of the four best third-placed teams if they secure a big win over Ghana.

Guinea-Bissau coach Baciro Cande is hopeful that the West African side can stun the Black Stars and advance to the knockout phase for the first time in history.

“It is very difficult for us to qualify but in football everything is possible and our target is to get to the round of 16,” Cande said.

“We know Ghana are very powerful, very strong but we will play our normal game, with no pressure.”

Saudi Arabia-based forward Piqueti Djassi Silva, who walked away with the Man of the Match award after the clash against Benin, will be looking to inspire Guinea Bissau to victory over the Black Stars.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s hopes of progressing to the Round of 16 are still alive despite recording their second successive Group F draw when they drew 0-0 with Cameroon on Saturday.

The draw left the Black Stars placed second on the group standings with two points and a victory over Guinea-Bissau will see them secure their place in the knockout phase.

Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey is hoping for an improved performance against the African Wild Dogs as the four-time Afcon champions look to finish their group stage campaign with a win.

“We are a team and we play as a team. Things didn’t go well for me personally (against Cameroon),” Partey said.

“I tried to help with whatever I can and I’m happy with the performance of the team. Now we have to focus on our next game.”

Swansea City midfielder-cum-striker Andre Ayew, who is the Ghana captain, will be keen to lead his nation to victory over the African Wild Dogs.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Guinea-Bissau and Ghana.

Benin are set to take on Cameroon in their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group F match at the Ismailia Stadium in Egypt on Tuesday.

Kick-off is at 6:00 pm CAT.

The Squirrels’ hopes of reaching the Round of 16 are still alive despite drawing 0-0 with a stubborn Guinea-Bissau side in their second group match on Saturday.

The draw left Benin placed third on the group standings with two points and they will advance to the knockout phase if they secure a win over Cameroon.

Benin’s experienced coach Michel Dussuyer has made it known that the West African side is going for a victory against the Indomitable Lions.

“We played a big game (Guinea-Bissau), we did not end things as we liked and we want to win the next game,” Dussuyer said.

The Squirrels will look to their influential captain and playmaker Stephane Sessegnon, who is the most experienced player in their squad.

Meanwhile, Cameroon look set to advance to the Round of 16 despite drawing 0-0 with a resilient Ghana side in their second group match on Saturday.

The Indomitable Lions remain at the top of the group standings with four points and a win or draw against Benin will be enough to send them to the knockout phase

Cameroon head coach Clarence Seedorf hopes the defending Afcon champions can deliver a more crowd-pleasing performance against the Squirrels.

“It may not have been good for the fans and we want to do better,” Seedorf said.

“But I saw two organised teams (Cameroon and Ghana) who created enough chances to have won.”

The Indomitable Lions’ dangerman is China-based attacker Christian Bassogog, who won the 2017 Afcon Player of the Tournament accolade.

In Head-to-Head stats, Benin and Cameroon have met five times with the Indomitable winning the five encounters.

For the final day matches of the group stage at the Total Africa Cup of Nations, CAF has decided to honour former DR Congo striker Pierre Ndaye Mulamba, the record holder for most goals in a single AFCON campaign.

A moment of silence will be observed before all the Day three matches starting today in memory of Mulamba, whose nine goals at the 1974 AFCON, incidentally in Egypt remains a record.

“We would like to pay homage to Pierre Ndaye Mulamba, record top scorer as he scored nine goals in 1974 edition here in Egypt. We will witness a minute of silence in his honour for all last day of the group stage,” said CAF Deputy General Secretary Anthony Baffoe.

Mulamba passed away on 26 January 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. A lethal finisher in his playing days, he scored both goals as DR Congo beat Zambia 2-0 in the final of the 1974 AFCON in Cairo, Egypt.

Source: CAF Online