AFCON Qualifiers: Morocco To Play Against Liberia in September

Morocco’s Atlas Lions will play a game against Liberia as part of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced the news on Tuesday, stressing that the game will take place on September 9 at the Grand Stadium of Agadir at 8 p.m. Moroccan time.

For Morocco, the game is also part of the preparation for the AFCON finals, which will take place in Cote D’Ivoire next year.

Morocco already secured its spot for the AFCON finals in March after South Africa and Liberia tied 2-2.

Zimbabwe, which was initially drawn in Group K alongside Morocco, Liberia, and South Africa, was disqualified by FIFA from playing the qualifiers due to the Zimbabwean government’s interference in the affairs of the country’s football federation.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) appointed referee Imtehaz Heeralal from Mauritius to officiate the Morocco-Liberia match, while the assistant referees are set to be Suleiman Amal El Din from Comoros and Jean-Marc Jeff from Mauritius.

The Moroccan national team currently occupies second place in Group K with 6 points, while South Africa tops the group with 7 points.

Morocco ranked 14th in the newly published FIFA World Rankings in July, losing three spots compared to the previous two rankings, when the North African country ranked 11th.

But the Moroccan Atlas Lion maintained the same position in Africa, standing out in the African rankings as the best football team on the continent.

Morocco’s lost spots in the ranking following the Atlas Lions’ 2-1 defeat against South Africa as part of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June.

Many criticized the Atlas Lions following the defeat, with most frustrated fans of the national team taking issue with head coach Walid Regragui for his decision to rest most of the team’s starters during the game.

Regragui responded to the criticism by insisting that what he did was part of a strategy to give playing time to new faces and see their potential since Morocco had already secured its qualification for the upcoming AFCON finals.

Morocco also recently played three friendly games, in which the highly-rated Atlas Lions secured a historic win against Brazil and two draws against Peru and Cape Verde.

As they prepare for the most prestigious tournament of African football, the Atlas Lions are hoping to reenact their historic, heroic journey at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

While the Atlas Lions made Morocco the first African and Arab nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar, Regragui and his players will be traveling to Cote D’Ivoire with the goal of claiming Morocco’s second AFCON triumph and the first in more than five decades.