AFCON ROUNDUP: DR CONGO HOLDS MOROCCO, A 10-MAN TANZANIA IS DENIED BY ZAMBIA

Morocco took the lead early in their Africa Cup of Nations Group F match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the pre-tournament favorites were forced to split the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Morocco, who made it to the World Cup semifinal in Qatar 14 months ago, scored in the sixth minute to establish themselves as the side to beat at the Ivory Coast competition. Their player is Achraf Hakimi. However, at the Laurent Pokou Stadium, the Congolese wasted a penalty in the first half before substitute Silas Katompa scored a well-earned equalizer in the 76th minute.

Morocco was denied the opportunity to advance directly to the round of 16, but they still have four points, which should be sufficient to advance, as DR Congo has drawn its first two games.

After four minutes, Hakimi's goal from a corner was postponed while Kenyan referee Peter Waweru fixed a broken headset that would have allowed him to speak with the other match officials. When the corner was eventually awarded, Congo was caught cold. Several defenders failed to see the ball before the Paris Saint-Germain right-back volleyed it home from close range.

In a commanding first ten minutes of play, Morocco had three excellent chances to take the lead. However, DR Congo gradually gained the upper hand and had a great chance to tie the score when a video assistant review revealed Selim Amallah had elbowed Henock Inonga in the side of the head as the two teams advanced for a corner.

A bad penalty was struck by Cedric Bakambu outside the bottom of the upright.

The equalizer didn't come until the final quarter of an hour of play, despite Chancel Mbemba of Congo coming dangerously near from a corner shortly after halftime. Meschack Elia expertly redirected the ball, allowing Silas to time his run and tie the score.

On Sunday, 10-man Zambia managed to salvage a 1-1 draw and deny opponents Tanzania their first Group F victory thanks to a late equalizer by Patson Daka.

 After Tanzania began their campaign with a 3-0 loss to Morocco, Simon Msuva's goal in the 11th minute gave them the lead at the Laurent Pokou Stadium and placed them on track for their first win at the finals. However, Daka's spectacular header in the 88th minute ensured a sharing of the spoils.

 Tanzania was not given much of a chance at the tournament in Ivory Coast, especially after coach Adel Amrouche was given an eight-match suspension on Friday. Tanzania had lost in their two prior finals appearances, in 1980 and 2019.

In a TV interview, he accused Morocco of manipulating referees, among other things, and the Confederation of African Football found him guilty of these offenses. Tanzania then suspended him, so terminating his employment. But Tanzania showed no signs of interruption under temporary coach Hemed Suleiman, moving forward until they stole the ball and Mbwana Samatta fed Msuva for a stunning goal.

Zambia put up a strong fight to try and tie the score in the 31st minute if Fashion Sakala hadn't missed a header at close range. However, they suffered a severe blow when, in what appeared to be a harsh decision, captain Roderick Kabwe was sent out for a second cautionable violation before halftime.

Despite the disadvantage, Zambia appeared more ambitious in the second half but was unable to equalize until much later. Daka of Leicester City raced in at the near post, leaping high to attack the ball and glance it into the net.

To restart their campaign, South Africa easily defeated Namibia 4-0. Bafana Bafana lost their first match 2-0 to Mali, but they struck back on their second try when Themba Zwane scored two goals following an early penalty kick by Percy Tau. Thapelo Maseko then added a fourth goal in the second half.

Namibia had a strong start, but Prins Tijueza's attempt went straight at Ronwen Williams, the goalie. After a protracted VAR check, the game took a turn for the better when South Africa was given a penalty for a handball committed by Riaan Hanamub while challenging Thapelo Morena.

· Tau, who cost Mali a penalty miss, assumed responsibility once more and scored a low, forceful shot into the right corner without error this time. Then, four minutes after Morena pulled the ball out from the byline for Zwane to apply a wonderful finish, sending the ball just inside the post, South Africa doubled their lead. Absalom Iimbondi of Namibia had poked over from right in front of goal.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, Zwane virtually sealed the victory by cutting in from the left and bending the ball past Lloyd Kazapua. Sphephelo Sithole nearly missed with his header. In the 75th minute, Maseko, the substitute, broke the offside trap and scored the fourth goal with a shot that was too scorching for Kazapua to handle.

Morocco took the lead early in their Africa Cup of Nations Group F match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the pre-tournament favorites were forced to split the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Morocco, who made it to the World Cup semifinal in Qatar 14 months ago, scored in the sixth minute to establish themselves as the side to beat at the Ivory Coast competition. Their player is Achraf Hakimi. However, at the Laurent Pokou Stadium, the Congolese wasted a penalty in the first half before substitute Silas Katompa scored a well-earned equalizer in the 76th minute.

Morocco was denied the opportunity to advance directly to the round of 16, but they still have four points, which should be sufficient to advance, as DR Congo has drawn its first two games.

After four minutes, Hakimi's goal from a corner was postponed while Kenyan referee Peter Waweru fixed a broken headset that would have allowed him to speak with the other match officials.

When the corner was eventually awarded, Congo was caught cold. Several defenders failed to see the ball before the Paris Saint-Germain right-back volleyed it home from close range.

In a commanding first ten minutes of play, Morocco had three excellent chances to take the lead. However, DR Congo gradually gained the upper hand and had a great chance to tie the score when a video assistant review revealed Selim Amallah had elbowed Henock Inonga in the side of the head as the two teams advanced for a corner.

A bad penalty was struck by Cedric Bakambu outside the bottom of the upright. The equalizer didn't come until the final quarter of an hour of play, despite Chancel Mbemba of Congo coming dangerously near from a corner shortly after halftime.

Meschack Elia expertly redirected the ball, allowing Silas to time his run and tie the score. On Sunday, 10-man Zambia managed to salvage a 1-1 draw and deny opponents Tanzania their first Group F victory thanks to a late equalizer by Patson Daka.

After Tanzania began their campaign with a 3-0 loss to Morocco, Simon Msuva's goal in the 11th minute gave them the lead at the Laurent Pokou Stadium and placed them on track for their first win at the finals. However, Daka's spectacular header in the 88th minute ensured a sharing of the spoils. Tanzania was not given much of a chance at the tournament in Ivory Coast, especially after coach Adel Amrouche was given an eight-match suspension on Friday. Tanzania had lost in their two prior finals appearances, in 1980 and 2019.

After being found guilty by the Confederation of African Football for disparaging former rivals in a TV appearance in Morocco, when he accused them of manipulating referees among other things, Tanzania suspended him, so terminating his employment. But Tanzania showed no signs of interruption under temporary coach Hemed Suleiman, moving forward until they stole the ball and Mbwana Samatta fed Msuva for a stunning goal.                         

Patson Daka of Zambia in combat with Tanzania.Image Courtesy.

Zambia put up a strong fight to try and tie the score in the 31st minute if Fashion Sakala hadn't missed a header at close range. However, they suffered a severe blow when, in what appeared to be a harsh decision, captain Roderick Kabwe was sent out for a second cautionable violation before halftime.

Daka of Leicester City raced in at the near post and rose high to attack the ball and glance it into the net as Zambia, despite the deficit, looked the more adventurous in the second half but left it late to draw.

With a 4-0 victory over Namibia, South Africa resumed their campaign with ease. Following their first 2-0 loss to Mali, Bafana Bafana struck first on their second try through two goals from Themba Zwane following an early penalty kick by Percy Tau. Thapelo Maseko then added a fourth goal in the second half.

Namibia had a strong start, but Prins Tijueza's attempt went straight at Ronwen Williams, the goalie. After a protracted VAR check, the game took a turn for the better when South Africa was given a penalty for a handball committed by Riaan Hanamub while challenging Thapelo Morena.             

Themba Zwane of South Africa scored twice in the match against Namibia. Image courtesy 

Tau, who cost Mali a penalty miss, assumed responsibility once more and scored a low, forceful shot into the right corner without error this time. Then, four minutes after Morena pulled the ball out from the byline for Zwane to apply a wonderful finish, sending the ball just inside the post, South Africa doubled their lead. Absalom Iimbondi of Namibia had poked over from right in front of goal.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, Zwane virtually sealed the victory by cutting in from the left and bending the ball past Lloyd Kazapua. Sphephelo Sithole nearly missed with his header.

In the 75th minute, Maseko, the substitute, broke the offside trap and scored the fourth goal with a shot that was

In the 75th minute, Maseko, a substitute, broke the offside trap and scored the fourth goal with a shot that was too hot for Kazapua to handle.