AFCON 2023: Africa's no 1 ranked team, Atlas Lions of Morocco, seeks early qualifications to knockout stage after DR Congo's meeting

Posted : 21 January 2024

Having asserted their authority as Africa's number one footballing country with a resounding 3-0 victory over the Taifa Stars of Tanzania, the Atlas Lions of Morocco will seek to secure a second win against the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Throughout this tournament, the Atlas Lions of Morocco have lived up to the hype, confidently dispatching Tanzania in the opening match.

The Atlas Lions of Morocco should aim to take a significant step towards the knockout stages of the competition when they face Congo DR at Stade Laurent Pokou.

Placed in a relatively easy group with Zambia, Tanzania, and DR Congo, Morocco has no need for complex permutations to secure results from other Group D members.

While Morocco has won the competition only once in its history, in 1976, and made the final on one other occasion in 2004, they currently boast arguably the best squad of players the country has ever seen.

However, coupled with a historic fourth-placed finish at the World Cup in Qatar, tremendous expectations follow. The Atlas Lions lived up to those expectations in their tournament opener, securing a convincing 3-0 win over group outsiders Tanzania.

Despite featuring a formidable attacking unit, Morocco restricted the Taifa Stars to a meager two shots on goal, showcasing their defensive prowess to the rest of the teams in the tournament.

Attacking play comes naturally to the Atlas Lions, as demonstrated on Wednesday when they fired 14 shots on goal with seven on target. They could have scored more had they not eased off the accelerator in the latter stages.

Walid Regragui's side has started games particularly well, leading at halftime in each of their last four matches and scoring 12 goals in their last five games, averaging over two goals per 90 minutes.

While Morocco enters this match as the outright favorites, history shows that Congo DR has performed well against the Atlas Lions in AFCON competitions and should not be underestimated.

These two teams have met in the Africa Cup of Nations five times in the past, sharing one win each, with the remaining three matches ending in draws. Only Egypt and Nigeria have faced off in more AFCON group stage matches (7) than Morocco and Congo DR.

The Leopards entered this competition as the second favorites to qualify from this group behind Morocco, and they would likely have been fairly disappointed with only earning one point against Zambia in their first match.

Sebastien Desabre's side was by far the more attacking team in the match, firing 25 shots on goal but were guilty of some poor decision-making in the final third, resulting in only a single goal.

DR Congo, having won the AFCON twice before, enters this game as the more successful side in the competition. However, things have changed drastically in recent years, and they will need to be at their best to stand a chance against the mighty Moroccans.

AFCON 2023: Africa's no 1 ranked team, Atlas Lions of Morocco, seeks early qualifications to knockout stage after DR Congo's meeting

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