Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz maintained his goal-per-game record at the Africa Cup of Nations, scoring the decisive goal as Morocco edged Tanzania 1–0 in Rabat on Sunday to book a place in the quarter-finals.
Diaz, who scored in each of Morocco’s three group-stage matches, struck in the 64th minute to make history as the first Moroccan player to score in four consecutive AFCON matches.
The goal came after sustained Moroccan dominance and a series of missed chances, as the Atlas Lions extended their unbeaten run in competitive and friendly matches to 23. Their last defeat came against South Africa at the 2024 AFCON.
Morocco will now face either South Africa or Cameroon—who meet later on Sunday at another Rabat venue—in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi provided the assist for the winner, making his first start of the tournament after previously appearing as a substitute in the group-stage victory over Zambia. Hakimi had recently returned from a serious ankle injury sustained in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich two months ago.
Morocco were without midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, who arrived at the stadium on crutches wearing a protective boot on his left foot. Bilal El Khannouss deputised in midfield.
The hosts went into the tie as overwhelming favourites, buoyed by home advantage, the backing of nearly 70,000 supporters, and a gulf of 101 places between the two sides in the FIFA world rankings.
Early chances
Despite Morocco’s dominance, Tanzania created the first opening in the third minute, but Saimon Msuva failed to connect cleanly with a cross from Selemani Mwalimu.
Morocco thought they had taken the lead after 15 minutes when Ismael Saibari headed in an Abdessamad Ezzalzouli free-kick, but the effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review confirmed the PSV Eindhoven striker had strayed beyond the defensive line.
Ayoub El Kaabi then headed over the bar before colliding with goalkeeper Hussein Masaranga, though both players were able to continue after treatment.
Diaz fired over from the edge of the box, while El Kaabi headed wide as Morocco continued to press, but the first half ended scoreless.
The second half opened at a frenetic pace, with Ezzalzouli and El Kaabi again heading wide. Tanzania nearly shocked the hosts when Feisal “Fei Toto” Salum blazed over with only goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to beat.
As pressure mounted, Hakimi rattled the crossbar with a powerful free-kick just after the hour mark.
The breakthrough soon followed. Hakimi picked out Diaz inside the box, and the forward made no mistake, beating Masaranga at his near post with a sharp angled finish to finally break Tanzanian resistance.
