AFCON 2023: Group F Matchday 1 Preview; Morocco take on Tanzania as DR Congo clash with Zambia
One of the heavily fancied Africa Cup of Nations favourites Morocco will get their campaign underway on Wednesday evening when they take on Tanzania at Stade de San Pedro.
Group F also features two-time champions Congo DR and 2012 winners Zambia, who will face off in the other match in this group at this venue directly after the completion of this fixture.
Morocco vs Tanzania
Fair to say, the Moroccans raised the bar for African football a little over a year ago at the 2022 World Cup, and the spotlight will now be on them to follow up in the continental competition, where they have a relatively disappointing track record.
After withdrawing from the 2022 African Nations Championship due to travel problems, Morocco were given a reality check last June, with two matches tempering the soaring euphoria of their World Cup semi-final achievement in Qatar.
The first was a goalless draw to Cape Verde, followed by a 2-1 loss to South Africa in qualifying for this competition, while a final wake-up call came after they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Ivory Coast in October.
Following that result, head coach Walid Regragui pointed out that he felt that the Atlas Lions were not the favourites to win the AFCON, but they won each of the three proceeding matches against Liberia (3-0), Tanzania (2-0) and Sierra Leone (3-1) last week.
Morocco have only lifted the AFCON trophy once in their history, back in 1976, but with one of the most impressive lineups on paper, this feels like their moment, and they will be under immense pressure to make a statement against a favourable opponent in their opening match on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, Tanzania come into this competition ranked 31st among African footballing nations according to FIFA and are the biggest outsiders to qualify for the knockout stages from Group F.
The Taifa Stars are set to make their third appearance in the AFCON, having previously participated in the 1980 and 2019 editions. Their last stint in the tournament saw them facing defeats in all three of their matches.
However, under the leadership of Algerian coach Adel Amrouche, expectations are high that the Taifa Stars will showcase an improved performance compared to their previous outing, albeit that they will likely be targeting Congo DR and Zambia as matches they could take something from.
Tanzania earned qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations by securing a heroic 0-0 draw against Algeria in their final qualification match, displaying resilience and determination to frustrate their illustrious opponent and secure the crucial point needed for advancement while holding off Uganda and Niger in the process.
Since then, the Taifa Stars have played a total of four matches, which saw them manage one win over Niger (1-0) and a draw against Sudan (1-1) before suffering back-to-back defeats against the Atlas Lions and Egypt, both by a scoreline of 2-0.
DR Congo vs Zambia
In a contrasting game, DR Congo who won two titles back in 1968 and 1974, take on 2012 champions, Zambia who lifted the title against this year’s hosts while led by French tactician, Herve Renard.
Since then, Chipolopolo have stammered in their continental ambitions. After their 2012 success, they were booted out in the group stages of both the 2013 and 2015 editions and are only making their return now in Cote d’Ivoire.
Zambia will look to the talent that emerged in their T U-20 AFCON squad that emerged with the likes of Patson Daka who has grown into a key member of the senior squad.
This is what the coaches and captains had to say ahead of the clash.
Sébastien Desabre, DR Congo coach
“The players are focused on the objectives. The first match of a tournament is important but not decisive. We go there with the ambition to continue what we have undertaken for a year and a half. We are underdogs but we want to play good matches. We are going to face Zambia who have very good qualities, especially offensively. The players are ready to defend the colors of the country.”
Chancel Mbemba, DR Congo captain
“It’s my 5th AFCON and this is an opportunity to share my experience with other players. But Experience must also be shown on the ground. Zambia has a great team, especially its attack. We watched the videos, and we are working on our own. We will defend our flag facing any player.”
Avram Grant, Zambia coach
“The AFCON is an important competition in Africa. We take everything seriously. This is how we will tackle our first match. We have a good team and the opponent is also good. Preparations went well and we arrived here to continue working hard.
There are teams better than us but with DR Congo, we can say that we are at the same level. Everyone wants to win the AFCON but only one country will win. We simply want to play our football and give our best on the pitch.”
Lubambo Musonda, captain Zambia
“We want to start the competition well. In 2012, we won when we were not expected to win and that is football. You have to play, be ambitious, take the matches one by one. Afterwards we will see if we can reproduce what our elders did in 2012.
We weren’t there in the last editions and that hurt us. Today we are here. We want to enjoy and have no regrets. Many teammates are here for the first time but they are motivated to give everything. We have the right state of mind.”
