South Africa Coach Broos: Beating Morocco Key to AFCON Final Hopes

"Morocco participated in the World Cup and reached the semi-finals, and I think they want to win the Africa Cup of Nations. This tournament is an opportunity for Moroccan players to reach the highest level," said Hugo Broos to the South African newspaper Citizen. According to him, the winner of the match will have a good chance of reaching the final. "If we succeed (against Morocco, ed.), it will be a big step towards what we all want, to play in the final and win," he is convinced, adding that the match will be like "a tough battle".

A few hours earlier, Hugo Broos had stated in a press conference that his team had drawn a tough opponent. "We’ve drawn a tough opponent, but we beat Morocco last year, so that means it’s possible," he said.

Morocco and South Africa have already faced each other eight times. The Atlas Lions have won two matches, during the 2019 AFCON in Egypt (1-0 score) and the 2023 AFCON qualifiers on September 9, 2022 in Rabat (2-1), while the Bafana Bafana have won three. The two teams drew three times, in Tunisia during the 2004 AFCON (1-1), in South Africa during the 2013 AFCON (2-2) and in Agadir during a friendly match in October of the same year. Who will win the round of 16 match? Tune in next Tuesday at 9pm (Moroccan time) at the Laurent Pokou stadium in San Pedro.