Algerians Celebrate Morocco’s Shock Exit from Africa Cup of Nations

Fireworks, honking horns, insults towards the Moroccan people... Many Algerians celebrated the Moroccan defeat against South Africa during the night of Tuesday. Scenes of popular joy and celebration were observed in large Algerian cities like Algiers and Oran. Video sequences "immortalizing" this celebration of the Algerian population were published on social networks, notably X (ex-Twitter). "Give him bananas, give him bananas, the Moroccan is an animal," shouted crowds of Algerians in the avenues and tunnels of the capital. Some even went so far as to burn the Moroccan team jersey.

Morocco’s journey at the 2023 CAN ended on Tuesday in the round of 16 after a surprise defeat against South Africa (0-2). A failure that Walid Regragui says he takes responsibility for. "[...] I of course bear the responsibility for this failure. I am not someone who hides behind my game choices, my player choices. I have nothing to reproach my players for. They followed me, they gave the maximum. Too bad, because I felt that we could be able to bring this cup home. It’s a competition that is complicated for everyone. There have been a lot of surprises. We had injured players, we had a lot of absences, we adapted. There are young people who came in and we could have expected better from them, and from me. But today, it’s the coach’s failure, not the players’," said the Moroccan coach.

"Beating a team like Morocco is something special. We are very, very, very happy," said South Africa coach Hugo Broos. The Bafana Bafana will face Cape Verde in Yamoussoukro on Saturday.