Atlas Lions looking to feast on Taifa Stars

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui admits a complicated task awaits them at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as they open proceedings against Tanzania at the Laurent Pokou Stadium on Wednesday, January 17.

Kick-off is at 7pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Current form:

The Atlas Lions built upon their historic run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals after losing just one of their eight matches in 2023, which came at the hands of South Africa (2-1) during the 2023 Afcon qualifiers.

Their biggest result came on March 26 when Regragui's side beat Brazil 2-1 in a friendly in Tangier and they warmed up for the tournament in Ivory Coast with a 3-1 victory over Sierra Leone on January 11 to make it five games unbeaten since.

The Taifa Stars also enjoyed a relatively positive 2023, losing only two of their seven matches. They faced Morocco as recently as November 21, going down 2-0 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier after kicking off their campaign with a 1-0 win against Niger three days earlier.

Adel Amrouche's side concluded their preparations for the continental showpiece with a 2-0 defeat to Egypt on January 7.

Team news:

Bayern Munich full-back Noussair Mazraoui is rated doubtful for the Atlas Lions as he continues to recover from a thigh injury sustained against Manchester United in the Uefa Champions League on December 12. Tanzania have a clean bill of health for the Group F opener in San-Pedro.

What was said:

"This is not the first time Morocco will arrive as favourite and a potential winner but, unfortunately, we have not managed to be regularly among the last four," Regragui told Reuters.

"It's true the last World Cup finals has given us the experience of the big competitions but for us the reality is that the Cup of Nations is always a complicated tournament."

Players to watch:

Hakim Ziyech came out of international retirement to help Morocco reach the World Cup semifinals in Qatar, but he featured just once during their Afcon qualifying campaign, scoring in the 2-1 loss to Bafana Bafana on 17 June 2023. The 30-year-old winger remains an important member of the team and was on target in the victory against Tanzania two months ago.

Mbwana Samatta is one of the Taifa Stars' most experienced players and currently plies his trade in Europe with Super League Greece giants PAOK after joining them from Fenerbahce in July 2023. The 31-year-old striker is just three goals shy of becoming his country's joint all-time leading scorer, although he last found the back of the net in a 3-1 win over Central African Republic on 23 March 2022 to take his tally to 22 goals.

Head-to-Head:

Matches - 5

Morocco wins - 4

Tanzania wins - 1

Draws - 0