Morocco Archives

Morocco football captain Romain Saiss announces retirement

Veteran Morocco captain Romain Saiss announced on Tuesday his retirement from international football, bringing to a close what he called “the most beautiful chapter of my life”.

Saiss’s decision comes after repeated injuries, including in the last Africa Cup of Nations, where he only played 18 minutes in the opening match against Comoros before he was substituted due to an issue with his left thigh.

The 35-year-old former Angers and Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back said on social media the decision followed “careful reflection” and was made with “immense emotion”.

“Wearing the colours of Morocco and becoming their captain will remain the greatest honour of my career,” he wrote.

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“Every time I wore it, I felt the weight of responsibility, but above all an indescribable pride.”

His brief AFCON return in December had followed an 18-month absence, also due to injury, having skippered the side to the 2022 World Cup semi-final.

Saiss’s retirement comes just three months ahead of this year’s World Cup, in which Morocco are set to face Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.

“I will now be your number one supporter,” he said. “I am leaving the national team, but I will forever remain a Lion.”

Saiss will still play for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd.

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Senegal stun hosts Morocco to win AFCON title

Senegal stunned Morocco in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final as Pape Gueye’s goal gave them a 1-0 extra-time win over the hosts at the end of a match marred by disgraceful scenes following a controversial penalty award.

Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco when he stepped up to take the spot-kick in the 24th added minute at the end of normal time.

But Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay of almost 20 minutes that followed the penalty award.

Congolese match referee Jean-Jacques Ndala gave the penalty right at the end of the allotted eight added minutes following a VAR check for a challenge on Diaz in the box by Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Diaz, the rest of the Moroccan team and their bench vehemently protested to the referee to check the images, but the decision to eventually give the spot-kick was met with fury by Senegal and their fans.

As most of their players walked off the pitch, some Senegal supporters in the small section of away fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

They were eventually contained by a large barrier of police and stewards, and their anger turned to delight and disbelief when the penalty was saved.

The Senegal team had initially been riled by the referee’s decision to disallow for a foul a goal they scored in the second added minute when Abdoulaye Seck headed off the post at a corner, and Ismaila Sarr nodded in the rebound.

After Diaz’s penalty miss, however, it felt almost inevitable that a galvanised Senegal would go on to score, and they did so in the fourth minute of extra time to stun the home fans in the crowd of 66,526 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Sadio Mane won possession in midfield and found Idrissa Gana Gueye, who released his namesake Pape Gueye.

The Villarreal midfielder held off the backtracking Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi as he advanced towards the box before beating goalkeeper Yassine Bounou with a superb strike into the top corner.

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Morocco were distraught, in particular Diaz, who was promptly substituted.

They could still have forced a penalty shoot-out, with Nayef Aguerd heading against the crossbar in the second half of extra time.

But it was not to be for the hosts, who had been dreaming of winning the title in front of their own fans to end a 50-year wait to become African champions for just the second time.

Senegal could have been more comfortable had Cherif Ndiaye not squandered a glorious chance to make it 2-0 late in the extra period, but they held on.

It is their second Cup of Nations title in the last three editions, following their victory over Egypt on penalties in Yaounde in 2022, which secured the trophy for the first time in their history.

They can now look forward to heading to the United States for the World Cup in June, and will hope to persuade star man Mane to play at another AFCON after he declared that the final would be his last ever game at the tournament.

Any investigation into the disgraceful scenes during the game will focus on the conduct of the Senegal team and their fans, as well as any shortcomings by Moroccan organisers.

The incidents came at the end of a tense final, which had been low on goalmouth action — not exactly surprising given the defensive strength of Africa’s best teams according to the FIFA rankings.

Senegal’s Iliman Ndiaye was denied by Bounou when clean through with the best chance in the first half, while Morocco should have scored just before the hour mark, but Ayoub El Kaabi prodded wide from a Bilal El Khannouss cross.

Then came the late drama, with Senegal surviving the penalty award before Gueye became their hero, that was the first goal scored by the Lions of Teranga in an AFCON final after they had failed to find the net in any of their three previous appearances in the tournament’s deciding game.

It was an agonising way for Morocco’s campaign to end, and many of their fans had left the stadium before the final whistle on a cold and wet night in Rabat.

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Morocco beat Nigeria on penalties to reach AFCON final

Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was the hero with two saves in the shoot-out as hosts Morocco beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties to set up an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final showdown this weekend with Senegal after a tense last-four clash on Wednesday finished 0-0 at the end of extra time.

Bounou saved from Samuel Chukwueze and brilliantly from Bruno Onyemaechi, allowing Youssef En-Nesyri to convert the winning kick and spark wild celebrations among the 65,458 crowd inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

There was joy but also relief for Hamza Igamane, who had appeared distraught after his kick, Morocco’s second in the shoot-out, was saved by Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.

He was the only Moroccan player to fail to score in the shoot-out; however, with captain and talisman Achraf Hakimi among those who converted their penalties.

Morocco will now play Senegal on Sunday for the title after the Lions of Teranga defeated Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 1-0 in the other semi-final earlier in Tangiers, thanks to a Sadio Mane goal, which will be a clash between the top two African sides in the FIFA world rankings.

“It was one of the hardest matches we have had against a very solid and talented team,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who played in the last Atlas Lions side to reach the final when they lost to Tunisia in 2004.

“I am very happy for the players and for the Moroccan people who really deserve this.

“It is a great gift for them to be in the final, but we will need to recover quickly because we put a lot of energy into this game.”

Morocco have been under enormous pressure to deliver a first AFCON title for their country in half a century, but will be confident of coming out on top against Senegal with their support behind them.

However, as their dream remains alive, it is an agonising way for Nigeria’s hopes to end, two years after they lost the final to the hosts inthe Ivory Coast, they had been hoping to win a fourth Cup of Nations crown to match the tally of rivals Ghana.

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Led by two recent winners of the African player of the year prize, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria had been arguably the best team at the tournament up to the semi-finals and the top scorers with 14 goals.

But they created next to nothing during the 120 minutes here and must settle for Saturday’s third-place play-off against Egypt in Casablanca before watching the World Cup from afar following their failure to qualify.

“The players fought for every ball, and it is difficult to lose on penalties, but this is football, and we have to accept it,” said Nigeria coach Eric Chelle.

“It is difficult to play here in Morocco because you have to play against the team and against the crowd.”

Doubts about the Moroccan team’s ability to handle the enormous pressure of playing at home had dissipated following their win over Cameroon in the quarter-finals.

The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists had been whistled by their own fans at times during the group phase here, but this time those supporters did their bit by responding to any Nigerian spell of possession with deafening jeers.

A frenetic opening spell to the contest saw the Moroccan winger Brahim Diaz, probably the tournament’s outstanding player, curl a shot wide before Alex Iwobi teed up Lookman at the other end for a shot that was well saved.

Morocco had chances, including a free-kick from Hakimi and a shot from Ismael Saibari that was well saved by Nwabali.

However, the second half was more cagey, and the clock ran down on normal time, while the spectre of penalties grew larger as the extra half-hour progressed.

It seemed Nigeria were settling for the shoot-out, even taking off Osimhen as they hoped to repeat their win on penalties in the 2024 semi-final against South Africa.

However, Morocco had also famously won on penalties against Spain at the last World Cup, and they repeated the trick to reach the final of their Cup of Nations.

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Morocco beat Cameroon 2-0 to reach Africa Cup of Nations semis

Hosts Morocco beat Cameroon 2-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final on Friday to stay on course to win the continental title for the second time in their history.

Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari scored the goals either side of half-time as Morocco set up a semi-final against the winners of Saturday’s last-eight clash between Algeria and Nigeria.

Real Madrid winger Diaz got the decisive touch to Ayoub El Kaabi’s 26th-minute header in front of more than 64,000 fans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat.

Diaz’s fifth goal in five matches at the tournament was followed by Saibari’s strike in the second half, with Morocco well worth their victory as they progress to a semi-final against the winner of Saturday’s clash between Algeria and Nigeria.

“It is historic. Moroccans have not seen their team in the semi-finals of an AFCON for 22 years,” said coach Walid Regragui.

“They deserve it, but we need to keep our feet on the ground and make this even more historic.”

Regragui was also full of praise for Diaz, adding, “Today he was the X-factor of my team. He has been amazing during the competition. Tonight, the way he ran and fought send out a message to the rest of the team.”

The semi-final promises to be a stiffer test for Morocco than that posed by Cameroon, who were hoping to spring an upset, having already exceeded expectations in coming this far after a troubled build-up to the tournament.

The Indomitable Lions, five-time African champions, created little with Manchester United forward Bryan Mbeumo struggling to make an impact.

Recently-appointed Cameroon coach David Pagou was nevertheless proud of his side in defeat.

“We are satisfied with how the boys played. We only started working with the team on December 16, not even a month ago, but they gave joy to the people of Cameroon,” Pagou said.

Morocco, Africa’s top-ranked team and World Cup semi-finalists in 2022, are under enormous pressure to win the Cup of Nations in front of their own fans, half a century after their last continental title.

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There have been doubts as to whether they can handle the weight of expectation, but they remain on course to achieve their objective.

It is the first time Morocco have reached the AFCON semi-finals since they lost the 2004 final to Tunisia.

The hosts were unchanged from their 1-0 last-16 win over Tanzania as they looked to continue an unbeaten record going back to their defeat by South Africa at the 2024 AFCON.

Fresh from knocking out South Africa in the last round here, Cameroon were clearly banking on frustrating Morocco as much as possible in an attempt to turn the crowd against the home side.

Morocco were beaten by the Cameroonians in the semi-finals the last time they hosted AFCON in 1988, but a repeat outcome never really looked likely.

Cameroon were not helped by the early loss of right wing-back Jackson Tchamadeu, who tried to carry on after Noussair Mazraoui landed heavily on his knee before eventually being stretchered off.

Moments after that, Morocco scored. Achraf Hakimi sent in a corner from the right, which was headed towards goal by El Kaabi at the near post, and the ball struck Diaz in the groin before going in.

That calmed a frenetic home support, who cheered their team off at the break after seeing Abde Ezzalzouli and El Kaabi come close to adding further goals.

Morocco were on top, and Cameroon’s response was to change formation after the break, from a back three to a 4-2-3-1, in an attempt to create more danger.

Ezzalzouli headed just over from a Hakimi corner, and then a cross by the Paris Saint-Germain star caused havoc in the Cameroon box as Samuel Kotto hooked the ball away from the line.

Mbeumo had appeals for a penalty dismissed by the Mauritanian referee before PSV Eindhoven’s Saibari fired in the killer second goal on 74 minutes after controlling Ezzalzouli’s dead-ball delivery, as Morocco march on to Wednesday’s semis.

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Brahim Diaz sends Morocco to AFCON quarter-finals

Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz maintained his goal-a-game record at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) by scoring to take Morocco into the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Tanzania in Rabat on Sunday.

Diaz scored once in each of three group matches, and his 64th-minute strike against the Tanzanians created history as he became the first Moroccan to find the net in four consecutive AFCON matches.

His celebrations included holding up a shirt belonging to midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, and he later dedicated the last-16 victory to his injured teammate.

Ounahi arrived at the stadium using crutches and wearing a medical boot on his left foot as Bilal El Khannouss took his place in midfield.

The goal came after Morocco squandered numerous scoring chances while stretching an unbeaten run in competitive and friendly matches to 23. Their last loss was to South Africa at the 2024 AFCON.

Morocco will face South Africa or Cameroon, who meet later on Sunday at a different Rabat venue, in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defender Achraf Hakimi set up the last-16 winner for Diaz, while making his first start in the tournament after coming off the bench in a victory over Zambia last Monday.

The 2025 African player of the year suffered a serious ankle injury playing for PSG against Bayern Munich in the Champions League two months ago.

“The competition is growing in intensity, and we have just faced our toughest opposition so far in Tanzania,” said Diaz.

“Not everything worked, we know that, but fortunately, we managed to secure our qualification. Now we will go back to work to be fully ready for the quarter-finals.”

Argentina-born Tanzania coach Miguel Gamondi said, “I am so proud of what my team produced. So proud of my players, both in their attitude and tactically.

“They showed that the gap between Morocco and us is not as big as people think. We will come back stronger, I am convinced of that.”

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Morocco were favourites for several reasons, including home advantage, the backing of close to 70,000 supporters, and lying 101 places above Tanzania in the world rankings.

However, it was Tanzania who had the first chance in the third minute, but Saimon Msuva misconnected with a Selemani Mwalimu cross.

Morocco had the ball in the net after 15 minutes as Ismael Saibari nodded a Abdessamad Ezzalzouli free-kick past goalkeeper Hussein Masaranga.

The assistant referee immediately raised his flag for offside, and a VAR review confirmed that the PSV striker had strayed too far forward.

Ayoub El Kaabi was the next Moroccan to come close, heading over before being injured in a collision with Masaranga. Both players resumed after treatment.

A Diaz shot was too high from the edge of the box, and El Kaabi headed wide as the host nation continued their pursuit of the opening goal, but the first half ended goalless.

In a lively start to the second period, Ezzalzouli and El Kaabi headed wide, then, in a rare Tanzanian raid, Feisal ‘Fei Toto’ Salum fired over with only goalkeeper Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou to beat.

As Moroccan pressure mounted, Hakimi rifled a free-kick against the crossbar from just outside the box on the hour mark.

A goal seemed inevitable given the relentless pressure from the host nation, and it came thanks to Hakimi and Diaz.

The full-back passed to the forward, who beat Masaranga at his near post with an angled shot from close range.

Tanzania protested furiously in added time after El Khannouss appeared to push Tanzania substitute Iddy Nado in the area, but the referee waved play on.

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Hakimi to feature in Morocco’s final AFCON group game

African player of the year Achraf Hakimi will make his first appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) when hosts Morocco play Zambia on Monday, coach Walid Regragui confirmed.

“What he has done to come back is extraordinary. What I can say is that Achraf will play tomorrow,” Regragui said Sunday in Rabat, on the eve of Morocco’s last group game.

“Whether he starts or not, it will be his first match at the AFCON.

“What we want — because we want to go as far as possible — is that Achraf progresses with the team and that we can keep him for the whole competition.”

Hakimi has not played since suffering an ankle injury in action for Paris Saint-Germain at the beginning of November and was an unused substitute in Morocco’s first two matches at the Cup of Nations.

Without him, Morocco beat Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game before being held to a 1-1 draw by Mali on Friday.

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They sit top of Group A with four points from two outings and a win against Zambia will allow them to advance to the last 16 in first place in their section. A draw will also guarantee their spot in the knockout phase.

“I think people don’t realise what Achraf brings to our team,” Regragui added.

“We have played two games without our best player, our leader and captain, but we have not hidden. Other players have stood in for him.

“But would we be a different team with Achraf? Of course. He is the best player in Africa, one of the best in the world.”

Hakimi admitted his frustration at not having taken part in either of the first two matches and said he was disappointed that Moroccan supporters had jeered the hosts during the draw against Mali.

“We know it is not easy sometimes, that they want us to win and finish games by half-time, but we have to respect our opponents too,” said the defender who helped PSG win the Champions League last season.

“It is not normal for them to boo us. We want to have the supporters behind us.

“I experienced that at Paris Saint-Germain when we were not winning in the Champions League, we were losing games, people said we were not a great team and didn’t have a great coach, but we went on to be champions of Europe.

“If the fans are behind us we can be champions of Africa together.”

Meanwhile, Hakimi added he was delighted to see his friend and former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, now with Real Madrid, in the crowd at the match against Mali.

“It is really nice to see my friend here in my country. He really likes Morocco and comes here whenever he can with his family. He loves the food here!”

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Hosts Morocco off to winning start at Africa Cup of Nations

RABAT: Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals as hosts Morocco got their Africa Cup of Nations bid off to a winning start by beating minnows Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday.

Soufiane Rahimi had a penalty saved in a frustrating first half for much-fancied Morocco, but Diaz fired home from inside the area 10 minutes after the interval at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Substitute El Kaabi then got the second with a stunning overhead kick, and the victory on a wet and cold night sets the Atlas Lions up for the potentially tougher tests to come in Group A against Mali and Zambia.

The result also allowed Morocco, Africa’s best team in the FIFA rankings in 11th place, to extend their world-record winning run to 19 consecutive matches.

The game was played out before a crowd of 60,180, with Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who appeared on the pitch ahead of kick-off, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino among those in attendance.

Morocco’s star man and captain Achraf Hakimi also ended up watching the entire game from the bench, with Regragui preserving the Paris Saint-Germain full-back, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury with his club at the start of November.

It looked set to be a long night for Comoros when Morocco won a penalty in the 10th minute as playmaker Diaz was tripped inside the box by Iyad Mohamed.

But Rahimi’s spot-kick was kept out by the legs of Yannick Pandor as the Comoros goalkeeper dived to his right, and the visitors then succeeded in thwarting their more illustrious hosts for the remainder of the first half.

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However, Morocco, who also saw veteran centre-back Romain Saiss come off injured early on, succeeded in breaking down their opponents after half-time.

Comoros, the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago who are 108th in the world rankings, had their resistance ended as the opening goal arrived on 55 minutes.

Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui, starting at right-back with Hakimi not yet quite fully fit, picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area and squared for Real Madrid’s Spanish-born number 10 Diaz to score.

Morocco, who had seen Neil El Aynaoui almost break the deadlock just before that, then saw space open up, although Comoros had a chance of their own as Rafiki Said was denied when clean through on goal.

Mazraoui forced a good save from Pandor before El Kaabi, of Greek giants Olympiakos, lit up the occasion by meeting a cross in from the left by Anass Salah-Eddine with a magnificent overhead bicycle kick to make it 2-0.

Morocco’s next game will be on Friday against Mali, who begin their campaign by taking on Zambia in Casablanca on Monday.

Elsewhere on Monday, South Africa face Angola in Marrakesh before Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, the record seven-time African champions chasing a first title since 2010, get their bid up and running against outsiders Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B.

This latest edition of the Cup of Nations is the first to start in one year and end in another, with the final to take place in Rabat on January 18.

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Morocco beat Congo to set new record 16-match winning run

Morocco set a new world record of 16 consecutive international victories with Tuesday’s 1-0 FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying success over Congo in Rabat.

Fenerbahce forward Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the game for the Atlas Lions, who had already secured World Cup qualification earlier this month with a 5-0 trouncing of Niger.

“Record-breaking. Our National Team makes HISTORY with 16 CONSECUTIVE WINS,” the Moroccan national team said on its official X account.

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“Unstoppable Lions,” it added.

The shock FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-finalists were the first African nation to qualify for next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Morocco, whose run began on June 7, 2024, had shared the previous mark of 15 victories with Spain, whose winning run began during their Euro 2008 success and ended a year later in June 2009.

That surpassed a previous record set by France, who were European champions at the time, between March 2003 and February 2004.

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Morocco crush 10-man Niger to seal FIFA World Cup 2026 spot

Morocco trounced 10-man Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday to win Group E and become the first African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Ismael Saibari scored twice in the first half after Abdul-Latif Goumey was sent off, and second-half goals from Ayoub el Kaabi, Hamza Igamane, and Azzedine Ounahi completed the rout.

A sixth straight victory lifted Morocco to an unassailable lead with 18 points, eight more than Tanzania, and sealed a seventh appearance at the global showpiece with two matches to spare.

Morocco were shock semi-finalists at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, topping a group including Croatia and Belgium and eliminating Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase.

The stunning run came to an end in the semi-finals as they lost 2-0 to France.

Only Ounahi of the scorers against Niger was in the 2022 World Cup squad, with coach Walid Regragui introducing new faces since, including Saibari from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.

In Group A, Egypt beat Ethiopia 2-0 in Cairo with Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush converting late first-half penalties.

Egypt can join Morocco at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico if they win away to second-placed Burkina Faso on Tuesday.

Newcastle United signing Yoane Wissa was among the goals as the Democratic Republic of Congo hammered South Sudan 4-1 in Juba to stay top of Group B.

Wissa moved from Brentford in a £50 million ($67 mn) deal after Sweden striker Alexander Isak left Newcastle for Liverpool in a British record move.

The Congolese are hoping to return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when the Central African country was known as Zaire.

Cedric Bakambu scored twice to help the visitors build a three-goal half-time advantage, and Wissa added a fourth before Keer Majak claimed a consolation goal.

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Senegal trail DR Congo by one point ahead of a top-of-the-table showdown in Kinshasa on Tuesday after beating Sudan 2-0 in Diamniadio through goals from Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr.

South Africa maintained a five-point lead in Group C thanks to a comfortable 3-0 ‘away’ victory over neighbours Lesotho in Bloemfontein.

The home fixture for Lesotho was moved to the central South African city, 145 kilometres by road from the border, because the mountain kingdom does not have a FIFA-approved stadium.

Mohau Nkota, who quit famed Soweto club Orlando Pirates last month to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq, scored his first international goal for Bafana Bafana (the Boys) in 15 minutes.

Lyle Foster from Premier League returnees Burnley and Oswin Appollis netted within four minutes midway through the second half.

Victory did come at a cost for South Africa, though, with defenders Nyiko Mobbie and Thabo Moloisane retiring injured ahead of a key clash with Nigeria at the same venue on Tuesday.

South Africa have 16 points, five more than Benin, who edged Zimbabwe 1-0 in Abidjan through a Steve Mounie goal. Nigeria, nine points behind the leaders, hosts Rwanda on Saturday.

Clinical first-half finishing earned Gambia a surprise 3-1 win over Kenya in Nairobi, with Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh scoring the second.

However, the result had no impact on the top of Group F, with reigning African champions the Ivory Coast away to Gabon on Tuesday in a match likely to decide who finishes first.

Serhou Guirassy, a prolific scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 38 goals in all competitions last season, bagged his first for Guinea in World Cup qualifying to set up a 3-0 win over Somalia.

But a disappointing campaign by Guinea, who lie fourth, eight points behind Group G leaders Algeria, means Guirassy will almost certainly miss the World Cup.

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Spain beat Morocco to reach Olympic men’s football final

Substitute Juanlu Sanchez struck a late winner as Spain came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 on Monday and reach the final of the Paris Olympics men’s football.

Morocco had led in the semi-final through a Soufiane Rahimi penalty towards the end of the first half at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

However, Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez equalised midway through the second period and then set up Sevilla right-back Sanchez to fire in the winner.

It is Spain’s second consecutive appearance in the final of the Olympic men’s football. They had to settle for silver three years ago in Tokyo after losing in extra time to Brazil.

Spain, who are chasing a second gold after triumphing in Barcelona in 1992, go to the Paris Olympics final on Friday against either hosts France or Egypt, who play their last-four tie later.

Morocco can still claim a first medal by winning the bronze medal match, which will take place on Thursday in Nantes.

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Last year’s Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations winners had impressed on their run to the semi-finals and looked on course to shock Spain when they went ahead in the 37th minute thanks to the prolific Rahimi.

Morocco were awarded a penalty following a VAR check for a foul by Pablo Barrios on Amir Richardson in the box, and Rahimi stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot.

It was a sixth goal of the Paris Olympics for the tournament’s leading scorer, with four of his strikes coming from the penalty spot.

That sent the large Morocco’s support wild but Spain kept their cool to equalise through their own star man in the 66th minute.

Lopez, a member of Spain’s triumphant Euro 2024 squad who scored twice in the Olympic quarter-final against Japan, pounced to snatch possession when the ball broke loose in the box and fired low into the net to make it 1-1.

With the prospect of extra time looming, Spain won it in the 85th minute as Lopez found Sanchez bounding into the area, and he sent a shot low into the far corner.

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