Morocco vs. South Africa Predictions

Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips for Morocco vs. South Africa at Africa Cup of Nations

Where: Stade Laurent Pokou, San Pédro, Ivory Coast
When: Wednesday, January 31, 4:00 AM

The battle between Morocco and South Africa promises a lot. The two units are in the AFCON found of 16, and have high hopes. Morocco wants to attack the title, flying high on their semifinal result at the World Cup in Qatar last year. South Africa is an underdog but a very tough one, as we already saw them highly unpredictable and nasty in the past. The stakes are high, and the pressure as well, which is the reason why we picked to cover this event.

Morocco vs. South Africa Predictions

Morocco

The team from North Africa was ruthless in the group stage, posting two wins and one tie. After defeating Tanzania in the opening event, 3-0, they played 1-1 against DR Congo, and eventually defeated Zambia in the closing event, 0-1.

Walid Regragui’s unit didn’t lose over the past eight events, posting six wins and two ties, recording five clean sheets along the way. Even though they have fantastic players upfront like Ziyech, or En-Nesyri, the focal point of the team is the defense.

That’s what pushed them all the way to the semis in Qatar. They aren’t only physical, like the majority of African teams, but have discipline and follow the game plan, which is usually filled with tactical details.

South Africa

Bafana Bafana secured the next stage with a win over Namibia in the second round, 4-0, and after that, played without goals against Tunisia, 0-0. The opening loss to Mali wasn’t that harmful, 2-0, because of the latter development.

South Africa isn’t a very gifted unit in terms of talent, with them having just a couple of players with careers outside their championship. However, this means that they know each other very well, and that the chemistry on the court is solid.

As you can already guess, the defense is a better part of the squad. Overall, their events include low efficiency, and only two in the past ten have seen over 2.5 goals.

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Morocco and South Africa Possible Lineups

Morocco: Bono; Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss, Chibi; Amrabat; Ziyech, Ounahi, Amallah, Boufal; En-Nesyri

South Africa: Williams; Mudau, Xulu, Mvala, Modiba; Maseko, Mokoena, Sithole, Tau; Zwane, Lepasa

* at the time of writing these lineups were relevant

Morocco vs South Africa Head to Head

The last time these two met, South Africa was better than Morocco. It was in the qualifiers for this competition, 2-1. The first meeting in Morocco saw the hosts finishing the game victoriously with the same result.

Morocco vs. South Africa Predictions

Morocco is the favorite, but we would pick under 2.5 goals here as the best possible choice. Neither side will risk too much, particularly South Africa, which will close all the paths towards their goal. Therefore, low efficiency is pretty realistic here.

Our verdict: Under 2.5 goals