Host nation Morocco delivered a performance worthy of champions-in-waiting, booking their place in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals with a commanding 2-0 victory over five-time winners Cameroon in a pulsating quarter-final in Rabat.
Goals in either half from Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari were enough to see off the Indomitable Lions, who were outplayed and outmaneuvered by a Moroccan side feeding off the energy of a ferocious home crowd at the newly upgraded Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
From the first whistle, Morocco’s high press and intensity overwhelmed a young and inexperienced Cameroon side, who struggled to gain any meaningful foothold. The breakthrough arrived in the 26th minute, fittingly from a set piece that Cameroon failed to clear. Ayoub El Kaabi’s flicked header found Brahim Diaz in the six-yard box, and the Real Madrid forward showed sublime composure to use his thigh to nudge the ball into the net for his tournament-leading fifth goal.
Cameroon’s frustration grew as the half wore on, with captain Nouhou Tolo booked for a cynical foul on Diaz and a melee erupting on the touchlines. Despite a more balanced start to the second period, Morocco’s control never truly wavered. Cameroon failed to register a single shot on target all evening, with their best chance—a glancing header from substitute Georges-Kevin Nkoudou—failing to trouble the goalkeeper.
The hosts sealed their place in the final four in the 74th minute, again capitalizing on a set-piece. A long free-kick was flicked on by defender Nayef Aguerd, and Ismael Saibari showed great poise to bring the ball down before firing a low, left-footed drive back across goal and into the net.
The victory extends Morocco’s remarkable unbeaten run to 25 matches, a streak stretching back to their last-16 exit in the 2023 AFCON. More significantly, it sends them into the semi-finals for the first time since 2004, when they lost in the final, and equals their historic run to the last four of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“The team was fantastic today,” said coach Walid Regragui. “The atmosphere pushed us, and the players showed the mentality of champions. We controlled the game, took our chances, and defended as a unit. We are two steps from history, but our focus is only on the next game.”
The Atlas Lions will now await the winner of Saturday’s quarter-final between Algeria and Nigeria, returning to their Rabat fortress on Wednesday with the hopes of a nation and the tangible advantage of a thunderous home crowd behind them. On this evidence, any team hoping to stop Morocco’s quest for a first continental crown since 1976 will need to produce something very special.
