Gabon – Morocco | 18/01/2022 AFCON

It is first versus second in Group C of the Africa Cup of Nations as Morocco square off against Gabon at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium on Tuesday. Morroco have secured their place in the knockout stages after winning their opening two games, while Les Pantheres need just a draw to progress.

Gabon need one more point to guarantee their place in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-finals after their 1-1 draw with Ghana, prior to which they learned three players – including captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – were unavailable due to Covid-induced heart problems. Missing that trio again might further limit their attacking prowess as they’ve scored exactly once in five of their last six matches (W2, D2, L2).

With their last ten AFCON matches producing under 2.5 goals (W3, D4, L3), the ‘Panthers’ haven’t been particularly entertaining but they’ll be solely focused on getting a result – if they lose and Ghana beat Comoros by 2+ goals, they’d have to hope to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams. They’ve only previously won one final AFCON group stage game before (D2, L2), but it did at least come against North African opponents in Tunisia, back in 2012.

That might not concern Morocco too much, who’ve guaranteed their knockout place with two deserved victories ‘to nil’. Although they’ve lost just one of their last 31 internationals (W26, D4), the last team to defeat them without needing extra-time/penalties was Gabon back in October 2019, so this has the potential to be a tricky way to finish the group stage.

However, they’re unbeaten in three competitive meetings (W1, D2) and will want to extend that record to take momentum into the round of 16, particularly as the ‘Atlas Lions’ have suffered just one loss on foreign soil since June 2018 (W12, D2).

Date: 18/01/2022
Time: 22:00
Venue: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo (Yaoundé)
Pick for this match:
“2” – @ 1.70 ( BETWINNER )

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Samuel

I am a journalist specializing in gambling in Africa and around the world. I am particularly interested in stories about games and casinos.

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Samuel

I am a journalist specializing in gambling in Africa and around the world. I am particularly interested in stories about games and casinos.