South Africa on Tuesday night recorded a major victory against Morocco night as it knocked out a 10-man Moroccan team out of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the Round of 16 played at San Pedro Stadium.
Second half goals from Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena earned Bafana Bafana the victory against the Atlas Lions.
Morocco had the chance to equalise in the 85th minutes from the penalty spot after the Sudanese referee, Mahmood Ismail and the VAR said Mothobi Mvala used his hand to stop El Kaabi goal-bound shot.
But Achraf Hakimi kick hit the crossbar to give South Africa the advantage.
With five more minutes before the end of the game, Morocco went down to ten men as Sofyan Amrabat received straight red card for foul on Teboho Mokoena.
In the 96th minute, Mokoena sealed the win for South Africa by whipping home a brilliant shot from the free-kick he had just won, sparking jubilant scenes in the Bafana Bafana squad.
They will now face Cabo Verde in a quarter-final of AFCON, while Morocco will rue a huge missed opportunity to win the continent’s biggest prize.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mali held on to beat Burkina Faso 2-1.
As the Round of 16 ended yesterday, the full fixtures for the quarter finals of the 2023 AFCON is now complete.
The last eight will commence on Friday, February 2 after a two-day break.
Recall that the competition started with 24 teams of which 16 nations have been sent home.
Shocks from the Round of 16 were the defending champions, Senegal, trounced so early in the competition while the perennial winners, Egypt was forced by DR Congo to return home.
The Atlas Lions of Morocco also suffered similar fate after losing 2-0 to Bafana Bafana of South Africa, bowing out so early to the surprise of many.
Here are, however, the Quarter Final full fixtures:
AFCON 2023: Quarter-finals (full fixtures) — Date, Time, Venue
Friday, February 2
Nigeria vs Angola (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 6pm)
DR Congo vs Guinea (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 9pm)
Saturday, February 3
Mali vs Ivory Coast (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 6pm)
Cape Verde vs South Africa (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 89m)
Semi-finals
Wednesday, February 7
Nigeria or Angola vs Winner 4 (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 6pm)
Winner 3 vs DR Congo or Guinea (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 9pm)
Third place play-off
Saturday, February 10
Loser semi-final 1 vs Loser semi-final 2 (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 9pm)
Final
Sunday, February 11
Winner semi-final 1 vs Winner semi-final 2 (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 9pm)
