South Africa have a booked a place in the last eight of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Morocco 2-0 in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
Despite being favorites to not only win today’s clash but the tournament itself, the Atlas Lions were unable to put the ball in the net against a South African team whose tactics appeared to be to defend in numbers and rely on few counterattacking opportunities to score.
South Africa gained more possession as the second half half of the match rolled on, leading to their breakthrough. Evidence Makgopa managed to score a goal in the 55th minute.
The Atlas Lions’ biggest scoring opportunity fell to Achraf Hakimi after South Africa’s Mothobi Mvala handled the ball in the penalty area. But the PSG right-back hit the ball too hard and it bounced on the crossbar, missing the target.
As the Atlas Lions chased a last-gasp equalizer to send the game to extra time, South Africa extinguished any hopes of a Moroccan comeback with a second goal that sucked the air out of Morocco’s AFCON aspirations.
