Soccer
Morocco reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 as Brahim Diaz netted again during their 2-0 win over Cameroon on Friday.
The AFCON hosts will face Algeria or Nigeria for a place in the final after cruising past a Cameroon side who did not register a shot on target at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah.
Both sides struggled to settle in the opening exchanges, but once Morocco found their groove, they were rewarded by their man of the moment in the 25th minute of the game.
Achraf Hakimi’s corner from the right was headed on by Ayoub El Kaabi, with Diaz on hand to flick the ball beyond the grasp of Devis Epassy from inside the six-yard box.
Morocco continued to push for a second as Abde Ezzalzouli cut inside from the left and rippled the side-netting before El Kaabi repeated the trick in first-half stoppage time.
Walid Regragui’s side were restricted to few chances after the interval, with Ezzalzouli’s near-post header from another Hakimi corner narrowly going over the crossbar.
But they got the goal their performance deserved in the 74th minute when Ezzalzouli’s free-kick flicked off the head of Nayef Aguerd, which teed up Ismael Saibari’s fierce drive.
5 – Players to score in five separate matches at a single CAF Africa Cup of Nations tournament:
1974 – Ndaye Mulamba for DR Congo
2010 – Gedo for Egypt
2022 – Vincent Aboubakar for Cameroon
2025 – Brahim Díaz for MoroccoStars. pic.twitter.com/TBhMXcoqhB
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2026
Data Debrief: Deadly Diaz delivers for Morocco
Diaz came into this clash as the top scorer at the tournament, and he did his chances of winning the Golden Boot the world of good after scoring yet another AFCON goal.
Indeed, the on-loan AC Milan midfielder has become only the fourth player to score in five separate matches at a single AFCON tournament, after DR Congo’s Ndaye Mulamba in 1974, Gedo for Egypt in 2010 and Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar in 2022.
And his goal helped Morocco to their fourth win at this year’s AFCON, their joint-highest tally in a single edition of the tournament (also four in 2004 and 1976), and they were deserving of their triumph here.
They finished the game with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.44 from their nine shots to Cameroon’s 0.42 from their five attempts. It was also only the second time the Indomitable Lions had gone a whole match without having a single shot on target since 2010.
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