So, that’s about us - thanks for your company. Ta-ra.
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As for Namibia, they gave it a really good go, organised at the back and eager to get down the other end where possible. If they can find a similar level in their next two games, they can give similar aggravation to South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire.
So there we go: Morocco get a win they could scarcely do without, and won’t exactly care how it came about. But if they’re not concerned about how they played, given we’ve seen it before, then they should be. They’re too slow, too predictable and too cautious, nowhere good enough considering the players that they have.
It’s hit him. Poor Keymuine is suddenly desperate and distraught, cuddled and carried off the pitch by his manager. Oh, mate.
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Full-time: Morocco 1-0 Namibia
Life, oh life, oh life, oh ho life, doo, doot doot dooo.
90+3 min It never rains. Keymuine, who’s running a temper fouls Boufal and is booked.
90+2 min That goal really was a shot of pure, uncut football, a battling performance ruined by two moments of cruel, unnecessary silliness, giving victory to the favourites.
90 min There’ll be three added minutes.
GOAL! Morocco 1-0 Namibia (Keymuine own goal, 89)
Aaaarrrggghhh! Ziyech whips in a decent ball which Keymuine expects Horaeb to clear; he does not, and with Saiss behind him, Keymine can’t decide whether to go at it with head or foot, crouching into an awkward right-angle before placing a firm volley into the far corner.
89 min Keymuine fells Boussoufa, giving Ziyech another free-kick to waste, 25 yards out and well left of centre.
87 min What’s noticeable about Morocco is their apparent unwillingness to beat men. Boufal is the only one so inclined, and he’s made a difference, this time dashing to the line and running out of pitch before he can cross.
86 min Benatia should be driving his team forward here, charging out with the ball and threatening all sorts to those playing too slowly.
84 min Sunglasses indoors, who could possibly have guessed.
The Tiranga lions' 🦁legend El-Hadji Diouf has full confidence in his team 🇸🇳#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/g3bb8xqyGa
— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 23, 2019
83 min I’ve not seem loads of them, but Morocco seem to struggle working up a head of steam. They need to ringfence the Namibia box so that when a ball’s cleared they’re in position to stick it straight back in if they want to, but instead go through another succession of passes, often from back to front.
81 min Kazapua is down with some kind of discomfort. In unconnected news, his team are heading for a point against a more fancied side with nine minutes to go.
79 min I’ve no idea why Boufal didn’t start, and he’s been easily the most dangerous attacker on the pitch, now playing a one-two with Hakimi before bending a shot just wide of the far post.
79 min Last change for Morocco, Boutaib replacing the disappointing En-Neysri.
78 min Amazing from Boufal, twizzling past 63 defenders in 0.0000045cm of space down the side of the box. But he can’t quite spin into a cut-back and Kazapua clears up.
77 min Morocco should be so much better than this.
75 min Benatia intercepts a pass and rushes out with the ball, which eventually makes its way to Boufal, who takes another hopeful shot and Kazapua saves easily.
74 min Dirar takes possession 35 yards out and has Amrabat outside him, but opts to lift a hopeful one into the box for En-Neysri, allowing Haoseb to clear up.
72 min Again, Ziyech finds himself in a shooting position, beating Haoseb and shooting against Hanamub; when the ball flicks up, Kazapua has to save desperately with his foot.
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71 min Lovely pass from Ziyech, straight down the side of the box for Boussoufa, who could shoot but instead looks to square for En-Neysri and Haoseb intercepts.
71 min Morocco started the second half with decent intensity, but they’ve dropped off in the last few minutes.
69 min Off goes Morocco’s other holding midfielder, El Ahmadi replacing Bennasser. If only the pattern of this game could’ve been predicted.
67 min Morocco have been here before, and the pressure will be starting to tell. Perhaps they’ll fare better against opposition looking to attack them, but will expect South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire to beat these.
65 min Haoseb turns nicely on halfway and sets Hanamub away; he crosses towards the near post, but there’s no one on-hand to attack the ball.
64 min Change for Namibia: Papma replaces an knackered-looking Starke.
62 min Hanamub brushes Amrabat close to the corner flag and when the ref interprets a free-kick, becomes briefly furious; there’s a hint of argy-bargy before Ziyech curls onto Haoseb’s forehead.
60 min Boufal moves across the face of the box from right to left, but he’s falling as he shoots. Still, though, it’s a good effort considering, and Kazapua has to dive to stop.
59 min But here come Namibia, Limbondi turning beautifully and sticking in a very nice cross, towards which tanks Hotto, past Dirar. But he can’t keep up with it and the chance goes.
57 min Er, now. He replaces Bourabia - quite why Renard wanted two holders in midfield, I’ve no idea.
55 min It’s attack against defence at the moment - in the first half, Namibia took chances to attack, but now they’re getting none. I wonder when we’ll see Soufiane Boufal.
54 min Morocco work the ball to Ziyech who slides in off the right and cracks a shot into the nearest available shins.
52 min Ziyech is playing narrower this half, Amrabat too, and he skates into space behind En-Neysri only to drag wide once more.
51 min Another free-kick to Morocco, down the left again, between box and touchline. Ziyech shapes to cross but Dirar is unmarked on the edge and the ball does go that way, but to Saiss pulling out of the cluster closer to goal. He can’t get around it, and Namibia clear.
48 min Morocco do look to be playing faster and the lengthening shadows suggest that it’s cooling down a little. That should help them, reckons our amateur meteorologist sitting in north London.
47 min More like it from Morocco, Amrabat barging through a lacklustre challenge from Horaeb and swinging in a beastly cross! En-Neysri is there! But instead of diving to head into an effectively empty net - the ball in took out Kazapua - he waits for it to arrive onto his instep, wrapped up in a bow, and party-pooping Nyambe steps in to intervene. The resultant corner comes to nothing.
46 min Off we go again!
Right, the players are back...
Half-time: Morocco 0-0 Namibia
Morocco have had plenty of the ball but have barely penetrated. while Namibia have defended their box pretty well and even attacked when they can. Renard has work to do - let’s see what he comes up with after the break.
45+1 min There’ll be one additional minute.
45 min En-Neysri nips down the left but Nyambe gets back at him well, conceding a corner. It’s half-cleared and Bourabia finds space to curl in another ball, but Haoseb is up first.
44 min Lovely feet from Shitembe, turning nicely and sending Hotto away down the right. Shalulile waits in the middle, but the cross fails to pick him out.
43 min Hervé Renard needs to do something about this, because it’s not at all good.
40 min Better from Morocco, Hakimi - who’s playing well - haring past Nyambe and into the box. The angle isn’t great, but the path to goal is unobstructed so he should shoot, because the cut-back isn’t really on. He goes for it anyway, Hanamub is there, and Namibia clear once more.
39 min The ref is allowing a fair bit of tackling here - he could easily have handed out two cards and penalty, but erred on the side of caution and we’re the better for it, I’d say.
37 min Ziyech shoots low and from distance again, dragging just past the far post. If he had more support, perhaps he could pass in those positions.
35 min Dirar slides into Amrabat, who feels Haoseb’s breath and arms on his neck and looks to buy a penalty, turning, moving into the box, and going down when a leg presents itself. The ref says no penalty, perhaps because Amrabat had a piece of shorts in his hand at the start of the procedure - but it was a tight one.
34 min Horaeb volleys Bourabia but incurs no penalty beyond a free-kick.
33 min Morocco look to move the ball across the pitch, seeking an opening, but Namibia shuffle across well before Ziyech, now on the right, looks to curl low towards the near post, but Kazapua is there.
31 min If Morocco are to create anything, their right-flank looks the most likely source, and again Hakimi and Ziyech combine, but again to minimal effect.
29 min Morocco look a lot like they did in Russia, short of speed and ideas.
28 min A foul from Ziyech gives Namibia a free-kick outside the box, left of centre, and the defenders come up only for Starke to curl directly at Bounou, who slices a punch clear.
26 min I’ll tell you something about the Cup of Nations: the flags are absolute bangers. Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Sengal are stone-cold classics but I’ve also got loads of time for Tanzania’s break with common style, the colour-blocking deployed by Benin and Guinea-Bissau, and the simplicity and shade of green we see from Nigeria.
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25 min Kazapua, in the Namibia goal, has yet to make a serious save. Morocco need to get more men into the box and, though it’s hot, think about pressing Namibia’s back four in possession.
23 min Nice from Ziyech, sashaying infield off the left and past Starke, opening up a shooting lane, before driving low and wide from 20 yards.
21 min It’s extremely hot in Cairo, but the pitch looks in lovely nick - a huge improvement on 2017.
19 min Is Ziyech trying too much? Benatia tries an, er, diag, and he brings it down well. Outside him, Hakmi is well-placed, but Ziyech instead tries a shot though two defenders are between him and the goal, dragging wide of the far post.
17 min Benatia heads away Shitembi’s cross, but the ball drops to Ketjijere, who tries a first-time lamp from 30 yards with predictable results.
16 min Still, Morocco win another free-kick down the left, this time much closer to the corner of the box. Ziyech stands behind it again, only to curl towards the keeper who collects easily.
15 min Benatia looks to spray a long pass out to Hakimi, but it looked prettier in his mind than in reality.
13 min Nyambe advances down the left and looks to swerve in a cross, but can only ram it into Bounou’s midriff.
13 min I’d like to see a little more movement from En-Neysri and Amrabat.
10 min Morocco win a free-kick down the left and Ziyech curls in, only to hit the man defending the front of the box. But a bungled clearance falls to Dirar, who smashes a shot from 2- yards that Kazapua tips over. The corner comes to nothing.
9 min In fairness, we’ve seen him move inside a few times already, but as much to create space for Dirar more as to get on the ball.
8 min Lovely footwork from Ziyech, dematerialising two men with the twinkle of his toes, before two more arrive to crowd him out. I know he plays off the right, but I wonder whether he might best be deployed in the middle so that he’s involved as often as possible.
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6 min Hakimi again appears in an advanced role down the left, Amrabat’s clever dummy allowing Bourabia’s pass to find him. But the eventuating cross sails past the far post, and Namibia will be satsified with this start.
5 min Bourabia tanks into a slide and upends Starke, but escapes further sanction.
3 min Hakimi, of Dortmund but Real Madrid really, nashes down the left and cuts back a cross but Haoseb is there to intercept.
2 min Morocco are moving the ball pretty quickly to try and find space between and behind the two banks of. But Dirar then tries to slip in En-Neysri down the right and Nyambe scurries over to mop up.
1 min There are huge expanses of space behind either goal like at the old Wembley, and pretty wide ones down the touchlines too. Why do they do that?
1 min Morocco get us away.
The players are out and huddling.
Starke, along with the captain, Ketjijere, is likely to be Namibia’s most significant danger. They’ll have to be sharp on the counter and to have rehearsed their set-plays because it’s hard to see them having much of the ball.
I should note that Ryan Nyambe, Namibia’s left-back, plays for Blackburn. He and Manfred Starke, of Carl Zeiss Jena, are the only players in the squad who are based in Europe; otherwise, they mainly play at home or in South Africa.
Hervé Renard is 50 years old and still capable of curtains. One can only respect that.
On which point, here’s a paean to the greatest hairstyle of all-time, courtesy of Joy of Six: ponytails.
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Youssef En-Nesyri is only 22 and scored 11 times for Leganes last season. Here’s a look at his hat-trick against Betis, the first scored in La Liga by any Leganes player; if Arsenal are interested in him, as has been rumoured, you’ll understand some of the why.
So, what’s going to happen here? If Morocco score in the first half, this could get messy, but if they don’t, this could get nervy. More generally, Côte d’Ivoire look a very generous price at 10/1, but Egypt have home advantage and Mohamed Salah, while Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana have good enough players to beat any side they meet if they’re on.
As for Namibia, they make five changes to the team which played in their last qualifying match - a 4-1 defeat to Zambia. Out go Mbaeva, Lombard, Kambanda, Stephanus and Shilongo; in come Kazapua, Horaeb, Nyambe, Starke and Limbondo.
Taking a closer look at the teams, Morocco are pretty much as expected. There was a notion that Boussoufa would play in front of the defence, but he’s on the right of the three behind En-Neysri while Amrabatm who I thought might play there, is actually in the middle.
Understood? For your next challenge, try reading this one without crylaughing.
Because the English are far more PC and more worried about offending other countries than everyone else is. We feel we have to say Côte d’Ivoire, because that’s what the Ivorians call it, but in Italy they always say “Costa d’Avorio”, in Spain “Costa de Marfil”, in Slovenia “Slonokočena obala”. etc.
In linguistics these are known as “exonyms”, a word in another language for a country’s place-name (e.g. the French saying Edimbourg and Londres). Toby Smith, Farnborough, England
Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire? Some answers from the Guardian’s Noters and Queries, quite some time ago:
Back to Ivory Coast, they are a special case. Unlike most coountries, they requested the workd refer to their country always with the French name. It was in October 1985 that the government requested that the country be known as Côte d’Ivoire in every language, without the hyphen, contravening the standard rule in French that geographical names with several words must be written with hyphens. Paul Hewn, Harrogate England.
Incidentally it’s illegal to call the Ivory Coast, the Ivory Coast, in the Ivory Coast i.e. it must be called Cote d’Ivoire. Paul Salmon, Edinburgh Scotland
Teams are known by the name they are registered under Fifa regulations. The Ivory Coast, being French speaking, are registered under their native tongue ‘Cote D’Ivoire’ and that is how they are referred to. Peter, Skegness, UK
Two questions, two answers: the specific case of Côte d’Ivoire (don’t forget the circumflex..), like that of Kyiv (Ukraine) and Belarus, is a side-effect of the current status of English as the lingua of international diplomacy/business/everything else - they are political choices made at the request of governments of countries seeking to establish their identities by adopting the local language versions of names rather than the calques and forms from “oppressor” languages that were commonly used previously. Similar patterns can be seen in Flanders, where it is becoming more common in English to use the Dutch forms of names of middle-sized towns like Leuven, Mechelen and Kortrijk than the French Louvain, Malines and Courtrai which were more likely to be used fifty years ago. As for the general question, why do we pronounce the S on the end of Paris and call Shqiperi “Albania” and so on: because English names were adopted at times when the native pronunciations differed, or when places were dominated by or known through a different culture, and have fossilised while the native usages have shifted; at the same time there will also have been changes to accommodate those tricky unfamiliar sounds that foreigners like to make that can’t be replicated by honest Englishmen. Places which were important to the English a few centuries ago - trading ports, for example - are most likely to have names that differ markedly from their modern local forms; places which have only become familiar recently will probably not. It is not a permanent phenomenon, as places which have a lower profile will tend to lose their old English names in favour of the current native ones: few people call Livorno “Leghorn” any more. Roger Hughes, Nottingham Royaume-Uni
Teams!
Morocco (an unnecessarily cautious 4-2-3-1): Bounou; Hakimi, Benatia, Saiss, Dirar; Bourabia, Bennasser; Boussoufa, Amarabat, Ziyech; En-Nesyri.
Namibia (a classical 4-4-2): Kazapua; Horaeb, Hanamub, Haoseb, Nyambe; Shitembi, Hotto, Starke, Ketjijere; Limbondi, Shalulie.
Preamble
There will, eventually, come a day when every international tournament in the world contains every international team in the world, matches played around the clock in perpetuity and streamed live onto our eyelids whether we want to watch them or not. But until that point, each tournament will boast a group of death, and at Afcon 2019, it’s Group D.
Côte d’Ivoire, champions in 2015, have the best individual players, and South Africa are solid, which brings us to today’s teams. It’s been a while since Morocco did much in the competition and they made a right and unnecessary mess at last summer’s World Cup. But Hervé Renard, their manager, has lifted this trophy twice before, and in Hakim Ziyech have a player good enough to light up the whole of Egypt. If he’s on, and others help here and there, Morocco might just do something, because they their defence is up there with Africa’s best.
On the face of things, Namibia should present them with no problem this afternoon. They are light on names and shy of goals, qualifying with just five in eight games in the process of finishing second in a group won by Guinea-Bissau, the 118th best side in the world according to Fifa. But for many of their players, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, a factor that must not be overlooked, and anyone who sat through Morocco’s match with Iran last summer will remember how lacklustre they looked when denied space in the final third.
Kick-off: 3.30pm BST, 4.30pm local time.
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