Morocco, South Africa and Mali qualify for AFCON knockouts

Hosts Morocco, South Africa and Mali advanced to the AFCON 2025 round of 16 as groups A and B concluded their fixtures yesterday.

Ayoub Elkaabi scored twice, as Brahimi Diaz added another, as the Atlas Lions thrashed Zambia 3-0 on Monday at the Prince Moulay Stadium in Rabat.

Morocco topped pool A on 7 points and were joined by Mali, who finished 2nd with three points after they played for a goalless draw against Comoros in the last group fixture.

Earlier on record, 7-time champions Egypt continued with their unbeaten run after being held to a barren draw by Angola at the Stade Adrar in Agadir in Group B as Bafana Bafana claimed a 3-2 win over Zimbabwe.

Six teams – Morocco, Mali, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria – are already through to the round of 16 set to start this Saturday.