By

Eniola Olatunji

Africa’s foremost team ranked 13th in the world, the Atlas Lions of Morocco on Sunday at the stade de San Pedro played a disappointing 1-1 with the Leopard of Democratic Republic of Congo in the second match of Group F.

Moroccan Coach, Walid Regragui known all over the world during the last world cup as BALD HEAD may face the Disciplinary Committee of CAF organizing the African Cup of Nations on going in Ivory Coast for as he confronted DCR Defender Mbemba for allegedly denying Morocco a penalty by pretending to be wounded by an apparent ball to hand which the Ref refused to pay attention to. The Ref probably acting on the known antics of North African teams to intimidate Refs for last minute penalty kicks was on the lookout.
The Centre Ref is a 41 year old Professor of Agricultural Technology of Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya. The Cover Photo shows Morocan players surrounding a DRC player in the hullabaloo.

Bald Head seemed to have made unpleasant comments after the blast of the last whistle to Mbemba who reacted without respect to the coach and players tempers rose with a rowdy situation. It is in the character of CAF not to take an attempt to bring the game into disrepute and may summon the coach and some players after the Match Commissioner may have given his report.

Hakimi Ziyach had laced PSG’s Achraf Hakimi in the 6th minute for the curtain raiser which gave Morocco a feeling that DRC will be slaughtered in the game.

DRC perhaps connected to the Nigerian popular phrase of NO GREE FOR ANYBODY IN 2024 and played man to man with the first African team to have reached the semifinals of the world cup after football is a game of eleven versus eleven, DRC got a penalty advantage but the Moroccan Goalkeeper successfully stopped the kick taken by Galatasaray player, Cedric Bakambu in the 42nd minute.

In the 76th Elia raised an assist to Stuttgart of Germany’s Silas Katampe Mvumpa who scored the equalizer.

Morocco still leads the group with 4 points scoring 4 goals and conceding a lone goal; DRC is 2nd with 2 points scoring 2 goals and conceding 2; Zambia has a point scored a goal and conceded a lone goal while Tanzania is yet to score any point yet to score but has 3 goals deficit. 

We await Zambia versus Tanzania at 6pm in the last match of round 2 for Group F but there is South Africa taking Namibia at 9pm.

The Group final is on Wednesday 24th January at 9pm simultaneously Zambia tackles Morocco and Tanzania takes on DR Congo.

Morocco and DR Congo met four times. In an AFCON match played on 16th January 2017 it was 1-1 draw; on 13th October 2020 they played 1-1 draw again; then the first leg of a world cup qualifier on 25th March 2022 DRC hosted Morocco to a 1-1 draw and in the return leg Morocco hosted with a 4-1 win.

The Leopards of Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked 67th in the world.  The Leopards played 1-1 with New Zealand in a friendly on 13th October 2023; played goalless with Angola in another friendly on 17th October 2023; lowly rated Mauritania was drilled 2-0 by DRC in a world cup qualifier on 15th November 2023; but surprisingly Sudan edged DRC 1-0 in another world cup qualifier on 19th November 2023 and on 10th January 2024 DRC crumbed before the Burkina Faso team 1-2 in a friendly. In their first group F match at this AFCON, DRC played 1-1 with Zambia.

DRC made 19 appearances at AFCON winning twice in 1968 and 1974. That 1968 at Ethiopia DRC won her first title beating Ghana by a lone goal; 1974 at Egypt, there had to be a replay after 2-2 draw and the country that was Zaire that time beat the Kenneth Kaunda boys 2-0; Burkina Faso 98 saw DRC winning Bronze 4-1 on penalties after 4-4 at full time; the last time DRC climbed the podium was for Bronze at Equatorial Guinea in 2015 when the Leopards beat hosts 4-2 on penalties after a goalless full time.

Morocco had played 1-1 with Ivory Coast in a friendly on 14th October 2023; she beat Liberia 3-0 in an AFCON duel on 17th October 2023; thrashed Taifa Stars of Tanzania in a world cup match on 21st November 2023; bashed Sierra Leone 3-1 in a friendly on 11th January 2024 and again trounced Tanzania 3-0 in their first AFCON 23 match on 17th January 2024.

Morocco ranked 13 in the world, leading the African teams has had 20 appearances at AFCON but were only 197 champions. They were champions at Ethiopia lifting the cup from Guinea in a 1-1 duel; In Lagos Nigeria 1980 Morocco beat Egypt 2-0 to claim the Bronze; at Egypt 86, Ivory Coast beat Morocco 3-2 to claim the Bronze; Morocco hosted in 1988 but lost the Bronze to Algeria 4-3 on penalties after 1-1 at Extra Time and at Tunisia 2004 Tunisia piped Morocco 2-1 in the final.