Superb Bafana shock Morocco to seal quarterfinal spot

Bafana Bafana produced a disciplined and impressive performance to stun Morocco 2-0 and advance to the quarterfinal of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) at Stade Laurent Pokou on Tuesday.

Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena scored in the second half to hand Bafana a win and a place in the quarterfinal where they will face Cape Verde on Saturday.

Under immense pressure against one of the tournament favourites and 2022 World Cup semifinalists Morocco, Bafana were impressive as they gave little away and frustrated the Atlas Lions, for whom Achraf Hakimi squandered a late penalty.

Bafana coach Hugo Broos kept faith in the same line-up that played against Namibia and Tunisia in the last two matches. Khuliso Mudau, who limped off in the goalless draw with Tunisia in the last match returned to the starting lineup.

It was clear from Bafana that their approach would be cautious and patient in their build-ups.

Mothobi Mvala was outstanding for Bafana at the back intercepting every move and some well-calculated dangerous tackles.

Bafana's aim was also to play long balls to Percy Tau and Makgopa, but Morocco's defence dealt with that well.

Bafana grew in confidence and had their own chances with Mokoena's dipping shot from outside the box that had goalkeeper Yassin Bounou stretched to parry away for a corner.

Hakimi came close to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of halftime following a loose ball given away by Bafana in their half and put Amine Adli through on the right, but the winger shot wide and the match went into the interval in the balance.

Out of nowhere, Makgopa gave Bafana the lead three minutes before the hour mark. He combined with Themba Zwane and timed his run well to beat an offside trap to net the opening goal.

As expected Morocco tried to up the tempo as they searched for the equaliser and put Bafana's defence under siege, but SA's remarkable defence - for whom a strapped Grant Kekana was key - were able to deal with all the threats.

Broos made a few chances bringing Thapelo Maseko for Zwane and Zakhele Lepasa for Makgopa to inject some new life into the Bafana attack.

With time running out, the Atlas Lions became frustrated and were awarded a penalty eight minutes from time when Mvala handled the ball inside the box.

But Hakimi ballooned his efforts over the bar. It got worse for Morocco when Sofyan Amrabat was shown a straight red card for a foul on a clean-through Mokoena.

The Mamelodi Sundowns man then made it 2-0 from the resultant free kick to seal the win.