Hosts Morocco’s AFCON hopes remain firmly alive after a commanding 2-0 victory over Cameroon in Friday’s quarter-final, sparking wild celebrations in Rabat. Roared on by nearly 64,000 fans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, the Atlas Lions delivered a composed and ruthless performance to book their first semi-final place in 22 years.
Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz once again stole the spotlight, opening the scoring in the first half to continue his sensational tournament run. Ismail Sabry sealed the win after the break, putting Morocco firmly on course for a historic home triumph.
Diaz Makes History as Atlas Lions March On
Diaz’s goal marked a remarkable milestone. He became the first Moroccan player to score five goals in a single AFCON, and the only footballer in the last 57 years to find the net in each of his first five matches at the tournament.
Reflecting on the achievement, head coach Walid Regragui urged caution despite the emotional night.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒆𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Regragui also highlighted the long wait endured by Moroccan supporters:
“𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 22 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄.”
Morocco will now face the winner of Algeria vs Nigeria in Wednesday’s semi-final.
Senegal Stay on Course for Another Final Push
In the other quarter-final, Senegal joined Morocco in the last four after edging Mali 1-0 in a tense West African clash. Everton forward Illiman Ndiaye scored the decisive goal as the Lions of Teranga moved one step closer to a third final appearance in four editions.
With Morocco carrying home pressure and Senegal brimming with experience, the AFCON semi-finals promise a thrilling battle for continental supremacy.
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