South Africa shock Morocco as Hakimi misses penalty

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi had an opportunity towards the end of the match to level the score with a penalty, but unfortunately missed it. This led to a major upset as South Africa defeated Morocco with only 10 players on the field. The win secured South Africa a spot in the quarter-finals where they will face off against Cape Verde in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

In the 57th minute, Makgopa skillfully scored the first goal, which was subject to an extensive Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review for offside. This goal set Bafana Bafana on their course towards an unexpected triumph over the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists.

Hakimi had a great chance to even the score when the referee called a handball on Mothobi Mvala for blocking Ayoub El Kaabi's shot, but unfortunately, Hakimi missed his penalty kick and hit the crossbar in the 85th minute.

During the stoppage time of the game, Sofyan Amrabat, a midfielder for Manchester United, was given a red card. Shortly after that, Teboho Mokoena managed to score an impressive free-kick, beating Bono and securing a stylish victory.

The team that won the championship in 1996 will try to do better than they did in the quarterfinals during their last appearance in the finals in 2019. They will be facing the Blue Sharks, who haven't lost a game yet, on Saturday at 8:00 PM GMT, with the winner advancing to the semifinals.

Morocco is the highest-ranked team in Africa, but they will have to be patient and wait until they host the 2025 Afcon to finally win their second continental title. Their initial victory dates back to 1976, and the team has been striving for another win ever since.

Atlas Lions Regret Missed Chances

Morocco was missing their key forwards, Hakim Ziyech who was the hero in their previous match against Zambia and Sofiane Boufal due to injuries. The spectators who were not there must have been puzzled as to why Morocco failed to convert several scoring opportunities against a team that was ranked 53 places lower than them.

During the first half, Morocco had some great opportunities to score when Amine Adli and Selim Amallah broke free inside the box. However, their accuracy let them down and they sent the ball wide. South Africa's centre-back Mvala was quick to intervene and stopped Hakimi and Adli's fierce shots twice during the early stages of the game.

After managing to handle a series of risky deliveries in the initial quarter of an hour, the team with lower chances of winning showed potential when Bono rapidly dove to deflect Mokoena's difficult shot from afar.

During the first half, only one shot was on target and it was made by Morocco. In the second half, Morocco missed a great opportunity to take the lead when Azzedine Ounahi gained control of the ball just within the South African half, quickly advanced towards the penalty area and exchanged a pass with Youssef En-Nesyri before missing the goal with a lifted shot.

Soon after missing some chances, Makgopa made up for it by receiving Themba Zwane's pass and positioning himself inside the box. He then scored his first international goal in over two years by shooting from a narrow angle and beating the opposition goalkeeper, Bono.

It seemed like the Orlando Pirates striker was very close to being offside, but Ismail let the game continue after a speedy review by the VAR.

Another surprising upset could be in store at Afcon as Morocco narrowly missed the chance to equalize with a powerful strike from Abde Ezzalzouli that was saved by goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. Ounahi attempted to put in the rebound, but the ball was cleared out of danger in a hurried manner.

After Morocco manager Walid Regragui made some quick changes, putting in Ismael Saibari and Amine Harit instead of Amallah and Adli, his team still had trouble trying to score against their opponents' strong defense.

It appeared as though the Atlas Lions were going to secure salvation after El Kaabi's shot struck Mvala's arm and a penalty was given after a review from Ismail using a monitor on the sidelines. However, Hakimi unfortunately hit the ball against the top of the bar and it bounced over.

In an intense ending, Amrabat was deemed to be the final defender by the officials when he tackled Mokoena inside the penalty area. Consequently, he was sent off with a red card, rather than receiving a second yellow card after undergoing a VAR review.

Mokoena made sure of the victory by elegantly curling the ball into the net, securing South Africa's second goal. This victory marked another remarkable moment in Hugo Broos' team's successful run, during which they already achieved their biggest win in Afcon history.

It's expected that the team will face a challenging obstacle on their journey to a probable semi-final game against either Nigeria or Angola. They will go up against Cape Verde, who scored seven goals during the group stage, and recently won their last-16 match against Mauritania with a score of 1-0. This will put the team's defensive skills to the test once more.

The game has concluded, with the final score being Morocco 0 and South Africa 2.

The latter part of the match has come to an end with Morocco having scored no goals and South Africa triumphing with two goals.

Ayoub El Kaabi (Morocco) committed a hand ball.

Zakhele Lepasa, a player from South Africa, just missed a goal opportunity. He took a shot with his right foot from outside the box, but it missed to the left. Teboho Mokoena helped out with the play by assisting in a fast break.

The shot from Ayoub El Kaabi (player representing Morocco) was blocked by the goalkeeper in the middle of the goal after receiving a pass from Youssef En-Nesyri (fellow player on his team) who used his head to direct the ball.

Zakhele Lepasa of South Africa has committed an offside offense and thus, the play has been stopped.

Thapelo Maseko has been flagged for being in an offside position in South Africa.

In the defensive half, Achraf Hakimi from Morocco managed to secure a free kick.

Thapelo Maseko (South Africa) committed a violation.

The referee has blown the whistle for an offside offence committed by Romain Saïss from Morocco.

Grant Kekana gives away a corner kick to Morocco.

Score! South Africa leads with 2 goals against Morocco, thanks to Teboho Mokoena's powerful right-footed shot from a free kick that landed in the top left corner.

Sofyan Amrabat from Morocco has been given a red card.

The VAR has decided to upgrade the card of Sofyan Amrabat from Morocco.

Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco) has committed a foul.

Teboho Mokoena, a South African player, was awarded a free kick in the offensive zone.

Achraf Hakimi from Morocco gets a foul called in his favor on the right side of the field.

Thapelo Maseko (South Africa) was called for a foul.

In the defensive half, Ismael Saibari from Morocco has received a free kick.

Percy Tau (South Africa) committed a violation.