Ziyech fires Morocco to AFCON win as they top Group F and Zambia go home
The Stade de San Pedro hosted a drama-laden finale to Group F as Zambia took on Morocco with qualification for the Round of 16 hanging in the balance.
The pressure weighed heavier on the 2012 AFCON Champions Zambia, who needed at least a draw to stand any chance of automatic qualification, whereas Group leaders Morocco just needed to avoid defeat.
A nervy start for Zambia was almost made even worse inside the opening 10 minutes when Ismael Saibari was allowed far too much room in the area before seeing his effort well blocked by Stoppila Sunzu.
The Copper Bullets had only beaten Morocco once in their last six attempts and they struggled once again in the first half, taking over 30 minutes to have a shot on target through Emmanuel Banda from range.
The Atlas Lions then got their deserved breakthrough when Hakim Ziyech scored his first goal of the tournament by pouncing on Tresford Lawrence Mulenga’s save to smash home and make it 1-0 at the break.
Morocco looked to kill the game off following the restart and almost got their wish when Amine Adli broke into the box and was denied a certain goal by a wonderful Mulenga save.
The Atlas Lions were almost punished for not extending their lead when the dangerous Lameck Banda wiggled past two defenders and sent a curling effort just wide of the post to remind everyone in the stadium that Zambia were still in the contest.
With a loss meaning the Copper Bullets exit from the tournament, Zambia continued to look for an all-important equaliser but could not even manage a shot on target over 40 minutes into the second half.
Emmanuel Banda had Zambia’s best chance of the second half with an effort that was easily saved by Yassine Bounou thus sealing the Copper Bullets fate with a 1-0 loss. Victory for Morocco sees them top Group F undefeated with seven points, while Zambia end up in third with two points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)