Morocco reaches AFCON quarter-finals after beating Tanzania
Achraf Hakimi, team captain
Morocco beat Tanzania 1-0 in Rabat on January 4th, a result that sent the Moroccan team through to the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) against Cameroon, according to BBC Sport.
This victory was team captain Achraf Hakimi’s return to the sport after a two month break following an ankle injury. Morocco enjoyed a series of attacks throughout the game, with Hakimi hitting the crossbar in a free kick attempt. Additionally the Tanzanian Goalkeeper, Hussein Masalanga, managed to save a close-range header from Abde Ezzalzouli, who currently plays for the La Liga club Betis.
Tanzania got close to scoring a goal on several occasions, with Feisal Salum narrowly missing the target shortly before Morocco’s winning goal. The winning goal was scored by Brahim Diaz, making him the first Moroccan player to score in four successive AFCON matches.
Tanzania are currently ranked 101 places below Morocco in official FIFA rankings, coming in at 112th. They were the first team to progress to the last sixteen round with only two points since 2019, when the tournament was expanded to include 24 teams. The country will be hosting the competition in 2027, along with Kenya and Uganda.
This win takes the Moroccan team one step closer to the possibility of playing its first AFCON semi-final since 2004, when they were defeated by Tunisia. The president of FIFA had previously declared that the hosts, Morocco, would hold “the most beautiful Africa Cup of Nations in history” in addition to their recent victory in the 2025 Arab Cup after defeating Jordan 3-2 in the final game.
These advancements come as a pay-off to a long-term investment into the country’s football progress, as Morocco hopes to become the continent’s leading football nation. The country’s most immediate goal is to win the AFCON tournament, having not done so since 1976 when it was hosted in Ethiopia as it would be “the final piece of the puzzle” of the team’s success.
Morocco will face Cameroon in the quarter finals on Friday 9th January, after their victory over South Africa.
BBC Sport, Maghrebi.org
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