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Having reached the quarter-final in two of their last three AFCON appearances, Morocco should fancy themselves to do so yet again.
The Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 will climax with World Cup semifinalists Morocco taking on South Africa for a place in the quarter-final.
The Atlas Lions’ road to this stage has been relatively straightforward, recording a pair of wins without reply in the group stage, with the only bump in the road coming against DR Congo, who held them to a point.
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Having reached the quarter-final in two of their last three AFCON appearances, Morocco should fancy themselves to do so yet again.
On the other hand, the road to the knockouts wasn’t quite as concise for South Africa, who had to bounce back from a 2-0 opening-day defeat to pick up four points on the way to a second-place finish in Group E.
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08:53 - 30.01.2024
AFCON 2023: Aliou Cisse speaks about his future after Senegal's elimination by Ivory Coast
Following the Round of 16 exit, Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse refused to draw a clear picture about his future, leaving the door open for uncertainty.
Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos doesn’t seem to pay much attention to his side’s rank outsider status, claiming that “nothing is impossible,” in the build-up to this crunch clash.
Such belief could be well placed as South Africa have at least made it to the final eight in two of their last three AFCON tournament appearances.
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11:18 - 29.01.2024
Throwing back to when Magogo purportedly called Desabre overrated
He explained that Desabre found a mature team that had just been at the 2017 AFCON finals and a good show in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Players to watch
Hakim Ziyech had a hand in Morocco’s last two group stage goals, with a strike and an assist, despite the talented playmaker not featuring for a full 90 yet in this tournament.
Meanwhile, South African forward Themba Zwane, who has scored two of their four AFCON goals at this edition, is Bafana Bafana's most potent player.
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