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ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Achraf Hakimi missed a late penalty as Morocco became the latest big name to be knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 loss to South Africa in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
Evidence Makgopa’s 57th-minute strike and a free kick from Teboho Mokoena in the fifth minute of stoppage time sent the Bafana Bafana through to the quarterfinals at Morocco’s expense.
South Africa will next play Cape Verde in Yamoussoukro on Saturday.
World Cup semifinalist Morocco responded with increased pressure to Makgopa’s opener but had to wait till the 82nd for Mothobi Mvala to be penalized for blocking Ayoub El Kaabi’s shot with his arm.
But Hakimi grazed the top of the crossbar with the spot kick in the 85th.
The Atlas Lions’ task was further complicated when midfielder Sofyan Amrabat was sent off in injury time, and Mokoena sealed their fate a minute later when he fired inside the top left corner.
Morocco follows defending champion Senegal, seven-time champion Egypt, five-time winner Cameroon, four-time champion Ghana, along with Algeria and Tunisia to be knocked out ahead of the quarterfinal stage.
Eagles Soaring
Mali held on to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 to set up a quarterfinal match against tournament host Ivory Coast.
An own-goal from Edmond Tapsoba and second-half strike from Lassine Sinayoko were enough for the Eagles to win the round-of-16 game, the last match of the tournament to be played in Korhogo.
Mali will next play Ivory Coast in Bouaké on Saturday, when the home team can count on supporters whose belief has been restored after beating defending champion Senegal on Monday.
Burkina Faso, which has repeatedly gone close to winning its first Africa Cup title in recent years, will have to prolong its wait after a campaign that never really sparked into life. The Stallions edged Mauritania 1-0, then drew 2-2 with Algeria, before losing their final group game 2-0 to Angola.
It was a bad start for Burkina Faso when Mali’s Amadou Haidara hit the post with a header and the ball rebounded off Tapsoba’s foot into his own net in the third minute.
Mali missed good chances to score before Sinayoko made it 2-0 by shooting between the goalkeeper’s legs in the 47th.
The Stallions were given a lifeline six minutes later when Kiki Kouyaté was penalized for hand ball. Bertrand Traoré scored from the spot to make it 2-1 in the 57th, finally giving his team the confidence to push for more.
Issoufou Dayo thought he’d equalized in the last minute but he had strayed offside before heading in a free kick.
AFCON quarterfinal matchups:
- Nigeria vs. Angola (Feb. 2)
- DR Congo vs. Guinea (Feb. 2)
- Mali vs. Ivory Coast (Feb. 3)
- Cape Verde vs. South Africa (Feb. 3)
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
