Morocco Faces South Africa in Crucial Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 Clash

Does Morocco have a chance against South Africa? Looking at the statistics, the answer is mixed. The two teams have already faced each other eight times. The Atlas Lions have won two matches, during the 2019 CAN Egypt (1-0 score) and the 2023 CAN Côte d’Ivoire qualifiers on September 9, 2022 in Rabat (2-1), while the Banafa banafa have won three. The two teams drew three times, in Tunisia during the 2004 CAN (1-1), in South Africa during the 2013 CAN (2-2) and in Agadir during a friendly match in October of the same year.

Their first meeting dates back to the 1998 CAN in Burkina Faso. The Banafa banafa had eliminated the Atlas Lions from the competition in the quarter-finals with a score of 2-1. The South Africans also won the second match between the two teams during the group stage of the 2002 CAN in Mali (3-1). They also beat the Atlas Lions in June 2023 in Johannesburg (2-1), as part of the qualifications for the 2023 CAN Côte d’Ivoire.