A dramatic turn of events unfolded during the last day of group B matches in the African Nations Championship, ultimately seeing Morocco and Zimbabwe secure their spots in the quarterfinals. Despite being placed 2nd and 3rd in the group before the decisive day, both teams emerged victorious.
In a riveting encounter against group leaders Uganda, Morocco faced a challenging test. Abdessamad Rafik opened the scoring in the 29th minute, giving Morocco the lead at halftime. However, Yunus Sentamu, a standout performer in the tournament, leveled the score after the break. Undeterred, Morocco regained the lead through Mouhssine Iajour. This time, the Cranes couldn’t mount a comeback, and Abdelkabir El Ouadi sealed the deal with a third goal in stoppage time. The final score stood at 3-1.
Watch the highlights here: [Link to YouTube]
The other group match saw Burkina Faso fall short once again, needing a victory for any hope of progression. Unfortunately for Brama Traoré’s team, they suffered another defeat, this time against Zimbabwe with a narrow score of 0-1. Masimba Mambare netted the sole goal in the match, marking the only goal scored by the Warriors throughout the tournament.
Remarkably, it’s a rare occurrence for a team to qualify for the quarterfinals with just one goal scored in the group stage, with the last instance dating back to the 2009 edition.
Group B Standings:
- Morocco: 5 points (+2 goal difference)
- Zimbabwe: 5 points (+1 goal difference)
- Uganda: 4 points (-1 goal difference)
- Burkina Faso: 1 point (-2 goal difference)
