1 July 2019 – Bafana Bafana fell to a last minute sucker punch, losing1-0 to Morocco in the last AFCON Group D match at Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Monday, 1 July 2019.
Needing a draw to make sure of a place in the knock out stages, Morocco’s Mubarak reacted quicker to put the ball into the back of the net from a free kick. It was a bitter pill to swallow for coach Stuart Baxter’s boys who had put up a spirited performance and deserves something from the game.
While the team will know by the end of first round matches on Tuesday on whether they proceed to the knockout stage or not, the 90th minute goal was a heartbreak.
It came when least expected and when most fans had resigned to a goalless draw.
But a dubious free kick awarded on the 90th minute saw Mubarak pushing his shot past Ronwen Williams who had again been solid for the most of the 90 minutes.
The first half was evenly matched as Bafana Bafana gave as much as they received in a period which saw action swinging from one end to the other.
The tempo of the second half was almost similar to that of the first half in which Bafana Bafana put up some great passed together.
It was Morocco however who saw one of their attempts come off the cross bar in the 63rd minute in one of the warnings in the second half.
Knowing a draw would comfortably take them into next stage, Bafana Bafana beefed up the defense and relied on swift counter attacks.
They brought in Sbusiso Vilakazi, Hompho Kekana and Lars Veldwijk for Themba Zwane, Bongani Zungu and Lebo Mothiba respectively.