At the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, hosts Morocco easily defeated Zambia 3-0 to advance to the round of 16 as group champions thanks to two goals from Ayoub El Kaabi.
In front of 62,532 spectators at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat, the Olympiakos striker scored in either half. Brahim Diaz of Real Madrid scored the other goal, his third consecutive goal in the competition.
Morocco advanced from Group A in top place with seven points after finishing the first round with two victories and a tie, according to AFP.
After a 0-0 tie with Comoros for the third time in a row, Mali finished second.
As a result, Walid Regragui’s Moroccan team will benefit from remaining in Rabat for their Sunday, January 4, last-16 matchup against one of the top third-place finishers.
The African player of the year, captain Achraf Hakimi, made his first appearance since sustaining an ankle injury while playing for Paris Saint-Germain in early November, entering the game as a second-half substitute on a comfortable evening for the host country.
Last time out, the Atlas Lions’ world-record 19-match winning streak ended in a 1-1 tie with Mali, but they recovered by outperforming their Zambian opponents.
According to the FIFA rankings, Morocco is ranked 80 spots higher than Zambia, which is ranked 91st, as Africa’s top team. During World Cup qualifying, they defeated the Copper Bullets both at home and away, setting a new record.
Additionally, the visitors were in the unfortunate situation of having to win their last group match in order to advance to the knockout stage. This is a difficult challenge for a nation that hasn’t won an AFCON since winning the trophy in 2012.
With only nine minutes remaining, Morocco took the lead when Azzedine Ounahi clipped a first-time ball to the back post after a right-wing corner was delivered short to him. El Kaabi nodded in and fled, covering his face in celebration.
Shortly before the half, Ounahi’s incredible pass in behind the Zambian defense released Abde Ezzalzouli, setting up a brilliant move that resulted in the second goal. El Kaabi missed his low ball in from the left, but Diaz swept home for his third goal in as many games.
Six minutes after halftime, El Kaabi broke free from Zambia’s offside trap and received another assist from the outstanding Ounahi with an overhead kick, giving Morocco a 3-0 lead.
El Kaabi now has three goals to join Diaz and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez at the top of the AFCON scoring tally after the goal was first disallowed for offside before being awarded following a VAR review.
When Hakimi replaced Noussair Mazraoui in the 64th minute for his first appearance of the tournament, he was met with a thunderous round of applause. Willard Mwanza’s excellent stop late in the game kept Hakimi from scoring.
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