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Ayoub El Kaabi scored twice as hosts Morocco eased to a 3-0 victory over Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday to secure progress to the last 16 as winners of their group.
The Olympiakos striker netted in each half in front of over 62,000 fans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat, while Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz got the other goal as he scored for the third match running at the tournament.
Morocco finished the first round with two wins and a draw, advancing from Group A in first place with seven points. Mali finished second after a third straight draw against Comoros.
Walid Regragui’s Moroccan side will therefore have the advantage of staying in Rabat for a last-16 clash against one of the best third-placed finishers on Sunday, January 4.
A comfortable evening for the host nation also saw captain Achraf Hakimi, the African player of the year, come on as a second-half substitute for his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in action for Paris Saint-Germain in early November.
The Atlas Lions had seen their world record 19-match winning run come to an end in a 1-1 draw with Mali last time out, but bounced back from that by outclassing their Zambian opponents.
Morocco is Africa’s top-ranked team according to the FIFA rankings and sits 80 places above Zambia, which is 91st. Their record-winning run included victories at home and away against the Copper Bullets during World Cup qualifying.
The visitors were also in the unenviable position of needing to win their last group game to be sure of going through to the knockout phase, a challenging task for a country without a single AFCON victory since lifting the trophy in 2012.
