Morocco will face South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations' final round of 16 match tonight at Stade de San Pedro. The winner of this match will go to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Cape Verde. Morocco, widely regarded as the tournament's strongest team before a ball was kicked, are aiming for their second AFCON crown in history. Morocco at the start lived up to expectations in their first match, defeating group minnows Tanzania 3-0. However, their bid for a smooth run was thwarted in their second game in a painful 1-1 draw against DR Congo, before ending the group stage with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Zambia. The Atlas Lions finished the group stage with seven points, four ahead of second-placed Congo DR, and will now face South Africa for a place in the quarterfinals.

South Africa are familiar foes for Morocco, as the two nations have already played each other twice in the qualifications round with each team claiming one win. The Atlas Lions, who have advanced to the quarter-finals in two of the past three AFCONs, with 2019 being the exception, will be seeking to go all the way and replicate their finest performance, which was lifting the trophy in 1976. Regragui, who did not appear on the bench in the win over Zambia, will return to the touchline tonight after CAF lifted the 48-year-old's suspension for an incident after their group game against DR Congo where he got into a bitter confrontation with Congo's team captain.  

Bafana Bafana huffed and puffed their way into the round of 16, finishing second in Group E with four points, tied with third-placed Namibia but with a better goal difference. Hugo Broos' squad opened their AFCON campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Mali. However, they responded with a dominant 4-0 victory over Namibia before finishing the group stage with a barren stalemate against Tunisia. South Africa have reached the quarter-finals in two of their last three AFCON tournaments and will look to repeat that accomplishment when they face Morocco tonight.  South Africa has a slight advantage in this fixture going head to head, having won three of the eight meetings, with two loses, and three draws. However, Morocco won the last time these teams faced each other at AFCON. That, however, was their only victory in five fixtures between the two teams in the tournament history, with South Africa winning twice and the other two resulting in draws. 

(Image: Khel Now)