AFCON 2023: Morocco Coach Sends Warning to South Africa Ahead of Round of 16 Showdown

• South Africa will lock horns with Morocco in the Round of 16 at the 2023 AFCON
• Morocco assistant coach Rachid Benmahmoud briefly previewed the upcoming tie
• Bafana Bafana will be looking to upset the favourites in their bid to win the tournament

Morocco will face South Africa in the Round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Atlas Lions assistant coach, Rachid Benmahmoud, warned Bafana Bafana ahead of their clash on January 30.

South Africa sealed their spot in the last 16 with a barren draw against Tunisia, while Morocco had qualified before playing their final group game.

The Atlas Lions were without head coach Walid Regragui, who was serving a CAF ban for his altercation with DR Congo's Chancel Mbemba. Therefore, Benmahmoud was on the touchline against Zambia. He is looking forward to the clash against South Africa.

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"The South African national team is always with us in the qualifiers. We faced them recently and were defeated by them. They are a good team. But the next match is completely different," via KickOff.

South Africa beat Morocco 2-1 in June last year. Bafana Bafana are underdogs in Ivory Coast and will face an uphill task against Morocco, who are considered favourites to win the tournament alongside Senegal.

South Africa's path to final

Bafana Bafana's path to the final is tough. They have to beat Morocco, the top-ranked team in Ivory Coast, to progress to the quarter-final.

In the quarter-final, they could face Cape Verde or Mauritania. These teams are not to be underestimated, as they can beat even the best. Cape Verde, for instance, topped a group with Ghana and Egypt. Mauritania had to beat Algeria to qualify, so the standards are high, per Eurosport.

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They could play Nigeria, Cameroon, Namibia or Angola in the semis. On paper, the Super Eagles are expected to reach the semis at least. South Africa will have to stop Victor Osimhen and company to reach the final.

If everything goes their way, defending champions, Senegal, could be waiting for Bafana Bafana in the final, as Sports Brief earlier reported.

Broos discloses Bafana Bafana AFCON target

Sports Brief also previously reported on South Africa coach Hugo Broos disclosing Bafana Bafana's target at AFCON 2023 after securing a place in the last 16.

The 1996 winners confirmed their place in the next Round after their goalless draw against Tunisia on Wednesday, finishing second in their group behind Mali.

South Africa last reached the quarter-final in the 2019 edition, where they lost to Nigeria in Egypt.