AFCON: Morocco beat South Africa 2-1

Morocco came back from a goal down to beat a tenacious South Africa side 2-1 in their first Group K match of the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

It required Ayoub El Kaabi to come off the bench to score a sublime 88th-minute winner after the Bafana shot stopper, Ronwen Williams, had put up an outstanding performance to keep his team in the game. Unfortunately, he was beaten late in the game as the Atlas Lions began with a win at home.

Youssef En Nesyri equalised in the second half to cancel out Lyle Foster’s seventh-minute opening goal, before the substitute El Kaabi sealed the victory with a volleyed strike two minutes from time.

But for the resilient heroics of Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Williams, Morocco could have finished with more goals than the two they finished the game with. Youssef En Nesyri, Ilias Chair, Achraf Hakimi and even El Kaabi were all stopped by Williams from adding to the scoreline.

In one of the AFCON Qualifiers group with just three teams (Morocco, South Africa and Liberia), Morocco takes to the top of the standings after the win, while South Africa is bottom on goal difference even though Liberia is yet to play.