Morocco head to Cameroon without out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech and hoping to end a 46-year wait for a second Africa Cup of Nations title. MoroccoHalilhodzic has taken Morocco to the final qualifying round of 2022 World Cup qualifying, but could miss out on the play-offs in March if they fail to reach at least the semi-finals at the Cup of Nations. He succeeded Frenchman Herve Renard in 2019 after Morocco suffered a shock last-16 loss to Benin in the last Cup of Nations and national football federation chief Fouzi Lekjaa set a tough target. "The new coach has been tasked with reaching the semi-finals of the next Africa Cup of Nations. Halilhodzic will hope forwards Ayoub el Kaabi and Ryan Mmaee repeat the scoring form shown in World Cup qualifying late last year when they netted nine times between them.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 03, 2022 01:07 UTC