Morocco progressed to the quarter finals of the Africa Cup of Nations after a narrow victory over Tanzania in Rabat, with Brahim Diaz once again proving decisive for the hosts in a match full of missed opportunities for both sides.
Morocco entered the Round of 16 clash as strong favourites, but Tanzania created the first big chance in the 3rd minute when Simon Msuva headed over from close range with the goal at his mercy after a fine cross from Selemani Abdallah. Morocco responded with several efforts of their own. Neil El Aynaoui fired over from distance in the 11th minute, and Ismael Saibari thought he had opened the scoring shortly after, only for VAR to rule the goal out. Ayoub El Kaabi and Brahim Diaz also went close before half-time but failed to hit the target.
The second half began with Morocco pushing forward again, as Saibari and Abde Ezzalzouli were both denied by goalkeeper Hussein Masalanga. Tanzania then enjoyed a dangerous spell, with Mohamed Hussein forcing a save from Yassine Bounou. The rebound fell kindly to Feisal Salum, who sent his shot over the bar from a prime scoring position.
Morocco finally broke the deadlock in the 64th minute. Achraf Hakimi created space on the right and found Brahim Diaz, who surged into the box before finishing low at the near post. Masalanga will feel he should have done better, but Diaz’s strike put Morocco firmly in control.
From there, the hosts managed the game well and limited Tanzania to half-chances, despite late appeals for a penalty that were waved away. Tanzania, competing in the AFCON knockout stages for the first time, showed real determination but could not find an equaliser.
Morocco continue their pursuit of a first AFCON title in 50 years and will face the winner of the tie between South Africa and Cameroon in the quarter finals.
