Morocco’s Atlas Lions Gear Up for South Africa Clash in AFCON Round of 16

"The national team will enter a new competition after qualifying for the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations. We knew the match against Zambia would not be easy due to the difficult conditions here and the opponent’s desire to qualify. What matters to us is to win and secure first place in our group. [...] The players are not used to these conditions, but as a team, we know how to manage such situations. Now we have to forget the group stage and focus on what’s next," said Sofiane Boufal.

For the Moroccan player of the Qatari club Al-Rayyan, the stakes are high: "We are entering a new competition from the next round. If you win, you continue, and if you lose, you go home. We don’t care about the opponent to come, because to win such a tournament, you have to defeat any team." A view shared by his teammate Ayoub El Kaabi, who plays for Olympiacos in Greece: "We will rest a bit and start preparing for the next match. It is normal to be tired because of the extreme heat and high humidity, but thank God we played the match as we wanted and achieved the most important goal, which is victory. We don’t care about the results of the other teams, we will work on the strengths and weaknesses of the South African team."

Amine Adli, for his part, looks back on the match against Zambia, which ended in a 1-0 victory for the Atlas Lions over the Chipolopolos. "We could have made the match easier, especially with some attempts in the second half. We remained solid in defense, which is good, and the same goes for the attack. Zambia is a good team and they played to secure their qualification." The Bayer Leverkusen player will add: "The coach reminds us at every opportunity that in the Africa Cup of Nations, there are no easy matches or easy teams. We have shown nice things, it’s good for what’s to come, and we have to continue in the same way."

The same goes for Wydad Casablanca left-back Yahya Attiat-Allah. "Thank God, we won an important victory and a good result. We dedicate this qualification and this victory to the Moroccan people. [...] We applied the instructions of coach Walid Regragui, all the players love him, and we hope he will be with us for the next match. All matches are important, not just the next one against South Africa. We will prepare well to win and move on to the next round."

On Wednesday, Morocco secured first place in Group F by defeating Zambia (0-1), indirectly allowing Côte d’Ivoire to finish among the best third-placed teams. The Atlas Lions will face South Africa in the round of 16 of the CAN next Tuesday at 9 pm at the San Pedro stadium.