African sides came no closer to really challenging at a World Cup, but the range of teams capable of beating the continent’s elite, of getting to the knockout stage of the Cup of Nations, was becoming more diverse. And now, in the Cup of Nations Morocco are hosting, the traditional powers are reasserting themselves. This has been a very strange tournament for the 1990 World Cup quarter-finalists. They arrived in apparent chaos, with two rival coaches each naming squads and submitting them to the Confederation of African football. Their opponents in the quarter-finals will be the hosts Morocco, who won just their fourth Cup of Nations knockout game.

Source: The Guardian January 05, 2026 16:18 UTC