Morocco will 'work to be fully ready' for Cameroon clash

A Brahim Diaz goal booked Morocco an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) quarterfinal date against Cameroon, despite coach Walid Regragui admitting that they "only started playing in the second half" against Tanzania on Jan 4.

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Real Madrid winger Diaz scored once in each of Morocco’s three group matches at the tournament and maintained his goal-a-game record with the 64th-minute strike that sealed a 1-0 victory at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

He is the first Moroccan player to find the net in four consecutive Afcon matches and his celebra tions included holding up a shirt belonging to injured midfielder Azzedine Ounahi.

Diaz later dedicated the last-16 victory to his teammate, who arrived at the stadium using crutches and has been ruled out of the rest of the competition with a calf injury.

The goal came after Morocco squandered numerous chances while stretching their unbeaten run to 23 matches – their last loss was to South Africa at the 2023 Afcon in the round of 16.

"Not everything worked. Now, we are going back to work to be fully ready for the quarterfinals," Diaz said.