South Africa stun Morocco to reach AFCON quarter-finals

South Africa pulled off a major upset by beating Morocco 2-0 in the round of 16 match of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday. Goals from Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena in the second half enabled South Africa to eliminate one of the tournament favourites who made the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The match was played at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro, Ivory Coast. Morocco went into the game as clear favourites but found themselves behind in the 57th minute when Evidence Makgopa finished off a good pass from Themba Zwane.

Morocco were then awarded a penalty after the opening goal but Achraf Hakimi struck the crossbar after which Teboho Mokoena scored an excellent freekick to make it 2-0.

The defeat ends Morocco’s hopes of winning their first Africa Cup of Nations title since 1976. They have struggled to translate their World Cup success into continental glory. South Africa meanwhile have done well to reach the quarter-finals where they will face Cape Verde on Saturday, in Yamoussoukro.

Morocco also ended the game with 10 players as Sofyan Amrabat was sent off late on. The result is a massive boost for South Africa, who went into the tournament with low expectations. It sets up an interesting quarter-final clash with Cape Verde in what is turning out to be an unpredictable tournament.