Another favourite hits the road at AFCON as Mali progresses to the last eight
Another pre-tournament has been sent packing at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Morocco is on its way after a 2-0 defeat to South Africa in San Pedro. It is now really anybody’s trophy in Ivory Coast.
Evidence Makgopa stunned the stadium with a left-footed finish to beat Bounou in goals for Morocco. The big Orlando Pirates initially thought he was offside, as did everyone around him, but when the flag did go up, Makgopa pulled out his best celebration dances.
Sofyan Amrabat then saw two red cards branded above his head in the space of a minute. The Manchester United man was first given a second yellow for a tackle on the impressive Tebogo Mokoena. Amrabat was then stopped from going into the tunnel as the referee was called to the VAR to check his decision. The yellow card was rescinded and turned into a straight red, so Amrabat continued with his walk of shame. To rub salt into the wound, Mokoena then scored a beautiful curler from the freekick to seal Bafana Bafana’s place in the quarterfinals of this wonderfully exciting Africa Cup of Nations.
Mali had to endure a late comeback from Burkina Faso before booking a place in the last eight in the earlier kickoff. After going two nil up, a Bertrand Traore penalty set up a tense finish. The Burkinabe had the ball in the net late on, but the offside flag turned joy into despair with the final whistle only moments away. It was another dramatic end in a chain of dramatic ends at this year’s tournament.
South Africa’s stunning victory sets up a date with yet another conquering underdog, Cape Verde on the 3rd of February. The hosts Ivory Coast take on Mali in an earlier kickoff on the same day. On the 2nd of February, Nigeria clashes with Angola before DR Congo does battle with Guinea for a place in the semifinals.
