Morocco Secures Round of 16 Spot in Africa Cup of Nations Before Final Group Match

Morocco is already qualified for the round of 16 even before its last group match scheduled for Wednesday against Zambia. The results of Côte d’Ivoire (Group A) who sank against Equatorial Guinea (4-0) and Ghana (Group B) who obtained a draw (2-2) against Mozambique on Monday evening, make this qualification possible. The Elephants and the Black Stars finish 3rd in their respective groups with 3 points for one and two points for the other. After beating Tanzania and drawing against the DRC, the Atlas Lions have four points. In case of defeat against Zambia, they would finish 3rd in Group F and qualify among the four best 3rd of the six groups. In case of victory and first place in their group, Achraf Hakimi and his teammates will face the second of group five, which includes Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia and Mali.

Three other teams have also qualified for the round of 16. These are Guinea (Group C), Angola and Burkina Faso (Group D). These countries are all assured of finishing at least third best.