This is the ninth meeting between South Africa and Morocco and the second on South African soil after a 2-2 draw in the group stages of the 2013 Afcon. Catch the action live on SuperSport and Showmax from 16:00 CAT.
Current Morocco coach Walid Regragui was Morocco assistant coach when they played out a 2-2 draw at the Moses Mabhida Stadium at the 2013 Afcon group stages against Bafana Bafana. He was assistant to then-Morocco head coach Rachid Taoussi after the Atlas Lions exited the tournament at the group stages a decade ago, drawing all three of their group games.
Hugo Broos faces Morocco in an Afcon qualifier for the third time and his record against them in Afcon qualifying reads P2 W1 L1.
Hugo Broos, as coach of Cameroon, faced Morocco in a 2019 Afcon qualification game. His indomitable Lions team defeated the Atlas Lions 1-0 on 10 June 2017. Cameroon’s lone goal in the game was scored by Vincent Aboubakar. He lost as Bafana Bafana coach in their earlier meeting against Morocco in the current qualifying campaign.
Of their previous eight clashes, South Africa have two wins, while the Moroccans have three wins and there have been three draws.
South Africa won the first two clashes between the sides; a 1998 Afcon quarterfinal game 2-1, and a group game 3-1 at the 2002 Afcon, which eliminated Morocco early from the tournament. Since then, Morocco have been undefeated in the last six meetings between the sides (W3 D3).
Morocco have won the last two clashes between the teams, with a 1-0 victory in a group stage meeting at the 2019 Afcon, and a win in the earlier group game in the current qualifying campaign 2-1.
In their earlier meeting in the current qualifying campaign on 9 June 2022 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco hosted South Africa and Bafana went ahead in the eighth minute through Lyle Foster. The hosts came back to win the game 2-1, with Youssef En Nesyri scoring in the 51st minute and Ayoub El Kaabi in the 87th minute.
Over the previous eight clashes between the teams, only once have both teams failed to score. Their only goalless stalemate took place on 19 September 2002 in a friendly game. Morocco have scored in their other seven games against South Africa, while Bafana Bafana also failed to score in a 1-0 loss against the Moroccans at the 2019 Afcon.
Since the renovation of the FNB Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, this will be South Africa’s first game in Afcon qualifying against North African opponents at the venue. The South Africans have faced fellow North Africans Egypt and Libya in Afcon qualifying, with those games in 2012 and 2019 played at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg and Moses Mabhida in Durban.
Bafana Bafana have played three games at the FNB Stadium against North African opponents. All three were prior to its most recent renovation. They lost to Egypt in their final group game at the 1996 Afcon 1-0 and defeated Algeria 2-1 in the quarterfinals at the same tournament. They also faced Egypt in a friendly game in December 1998, with Benni McCarthy scoring a brace for South Africa after Hoosam Hassan had initially given the Egyptians the lead.
In Afcon qualifying, South Africa have played five games against North African opponents, with their record reading W2 D2 L1.
Against North African opponents in Afcon qualifying, South Africa defeated Egypt and drew with them at home and away in qualifying for the 2012 Afcon. They also drew at home and won away against Libya in 2019 qualifying. While in the current campaign, they lost to Morocco away from home.
In the current qualifying campaign, South Africa have had a 21.74 per cent conversion rate while Morocco have had a 14.81 per cent conversion rate.
In their previous three games, South Africa have won 137 duels and Morocco have won 100 duels in two games. South Africa have made 799 successful passes over their three games, while Morocco have made 881 successful passes.
South Africa have had a passing accuracy of 77.20 per cent while Morocco have achieved a 86.80 per cent passing accuracy.
Over their previous three games, Bafana Bafana have had one successful cross while Morocco have had seven successful crosses.