Morocco Stuns Tanzania in Afcon Thriller to Reach Quarter-Finals
In a nail-biting match that had fans on the edge of their seats, Morocco secured a 1-0 victory over Tanzania at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The win was sealed by Brahim Díaz's fourth goal for the hosts, which sent them into the quarter-finals with a nervous display.
Despite dominating possession, Morocco struggled to create clear-cut chances, and it was their opponents who came closest to scoring. Simon Msuva had an open goal on 20 minutes, but he steered his effort wide of the post, while Feisal Salum missed another gilt-edged opportunity in the second half. Meanwhile, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou could only parry a long-range shot from Tanzania, which fell to Salum, who blasted over the crossbar.
Brahim Díaz finally broke the deadlock on 64 minutes with a fine strike from a tight angle after being fed by Achraf Hakimi's through ball. The Real Madrid winger's goal sparked celebrations among the Moroccan players and fans, but it was clear that their performance had been far from vintage. Despite having several other chances, Morocco were fortunate that Tanzania were equally wasteful.
In a statement, Brahim Díaz acknowledged that his team had not played at their best but praised their resilience in securing qualification for the quarter-finals. "The competition is hotting up and we faced our toughest opponent in this Tanzania team," he said. "Not everything worked, but fortunately we managed to secure our qualification now we are going back to work to be fully ready for the quarter-finals."
Tanzania's defeat was a surprise to many, as they qualified for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed sides despite failing to win any of their group games. Meanwhile, Cameroon advanced to the quarter-finals after scoring goals in either half to see off South Africa 2-1.
In a nail-biting match that had fans on the edge of their seats, Morocco secured a 1-0 victory over Tanzania at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The win was sealed by Brahim Díaz's fourth goal for the hosts, which sent them into the quarter-finals with a nervous display.
Despite dominating possession, Morocco struggled to create clear-cut chances, and it was their opponents who came closest to scoring. Simon Msuva had an open goal on 20 minutes, but he steered his effort wide of the post, while Feisal Salum missed another gilt-edged opportunity in the second half. Meanwhile, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou could only parry a long-range shot from Tanzania, which fell to Salum, who blasted over the crossbar.
Brahim Díaz finally broke the deadlock on 64 minutes with a fine strike from a tight angle after being fed by Achraf Hakimi's through ball. The Real Madrid winger's goal sparked celebrations among the Moroccan players and fans, but it was clear that their performance had been far from vintage. Despite having several other chances, Morocco were fortunate that Tanzania were equally wasteful.
In a statement, Brahim Díaz acknowledged that his team had not played at their best but praised their resilience in securing qualification for the quarter-finals. "The competition is hotting up and we faced our toughest opponent in this Tanzania team," he said. "Not everything worked, but fortunately we managed to secure our qualification now we are going back to work to be fully ready for the quarter-finals."
Tanzania's defeat was a surprise to many, as they qualified for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed sides despite failing to win any of their group games. Meanwhile, Cameroon advanced to the quarter-finals after scoring goals in either half to see off South Africa 2-1.
morocco was lucky to get that one goal but at least they made it through 
brahim diz's strike was pure magic 
and achraf hakimi's assist was 
top stuff! Tanzania had some great chances too, can't fault them for trying 
it's gonna be a wild ride in the quarter-finals, whoever wins gets to face cameroon next 
I mean, who needs that kind of nail-biting stress when watching football? It's not like they actually dominated possession or anything 
, and it was Tanzania who came closest to scoring... twice 
. Brahim Díaz is basically saying they didn't play their best, but still managed to win because "luck" 
? Give me a break, dude! 
, but let's be real, they played like a bunch of rag-dolls on the pitch 
. I mean, Brahim Díaz scores from a tight angle and everyone's celebrating like it's a World Cup final 
... it's not exactly the most convincing performance.
. With their performance against Tanzania, it feels like they're still finding their footing.
)
. The fact that they didn't play at their best and still managed to win is a testament to their resilience, you know? They were all over Tanzania but just couldn't create any clear-cut chances... meanwhile Tanzania was squandering chances left and right 
️. Tanzania had some great chances too, it's just bad luck when you miss those open goals 
. Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was decent though, made some big saves to keep them in the game 
!