Rabat – The Moroccan National Football Team will lock horns today with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana as part of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The highly-anticipated match will kick off at 4:00 GMT+1 at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
It will be broadcast live on beIN Sports HD 4 and beIN Sports 1 FR. The Qatari media group is the exclusive broadcast rights holder of the qualifying matches.
The Atlas Lions have already booked their spot in the final phase of the tournament after South Africa and Liberia’s game ended in a 2-2 tie in Group K. Morocco, who are heading to the match on the back of a deadlock with Cape Verde, currently sits at the top of the group with six points.
Group K consists of only three teams after FIFA suspended Zimbabwe due to the government’s interference in the running of the country’s football association.
South Africa’s coach Hugo Broos expects a fierce game with the Moroccan squad, who he described as “very strong opponent” and “the best team in Africa for the moment.”
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“Morocco is the best team in Africa. They showed this eight months ago by ending fourth in the World Cup so that means that they are a good side. They have players playing in Europe and we know what to expect from them,” the Belgian coach said during a press conference on Friday.
Broos stressed his team’s enthusiasm and readiness to play a good game and produce a strong performance, in an attempt for South Africa to redeem themselves from their defeat against the Atlas Lions in the first round of the AFCON qualifiers last year in Rabat.
“We were lucky we only lost with 2-1,” he said, explaining that the Moroccan team dominated Bafana Bafana in all aspects.
In addition, Broos hopes that today’s game will serve as an opportunity for the team to regain its popularity in the country and “win back the audience.”
“We have been playing in front of empty stadiums for the last two years and you need the public for an opponent like Morocco. Secondly, we have to win back the public with a good performance,” he concluded.
