Right then, I’m off. It was, well, not the best. Morocco win Group D, and Ivory Coast follow them into the round of 16. Whether South Africa will join them there remains to be seen, but whether they’d be likely to distinguish themselves if they did is something we probably already know. Bye!
There were 34 free kicks. Not as many in the second half as there had been in the first, but certainly more than enough. South Africa committed 22 of those fouls.
South Africa had four shots, none on target. Morocco hardly had a hatful of chances, but they were certainly the more adventurous team - they had 11 shots, three on target - and a third successive 1-0 win is probably just reward for their efforts, for all that the goal was scrappy and very late.
South Africa have the worst record of the three third-placed side to have completed their group-stage matches so far, and their prospects are looking decidedly ropey.
Final score: South Africa 0-1 Morocco
90+3 mins: Ten seconds before the end of those three minutes South Africa lash the ball hopefully forwards, and the referee blows for full time!
Updated
90+3 mins: There will be three minutes of stoppage time, and we’re already in the last of them.
90+2 mins: Suddenly South Africa have discovered how to hurry. Defeat here wouldn’t end there chances of sneaking through as one of the four best third-placed teams, but it’s not exactly helpful.
GOOOOOAAAALLL! A GOAL HAS HAPPENED!
90 mins: Thirty seconds from the end of normal time Morocco finally break through! A free kick from the left goes into the box, where one South African heads it into another and it drops handily for Boussoufa, who lashes it into the top corner from 10 yards!
89 mins: Morocco bring Faycal Fajr on for Ziyech.
89 mins: Another GOAL for Ivory Coast in the other game, Maxwel Cornet making it 4-1 for them against Namibia.
88 mins: Kekana goes down clutching his head, and play, such as it is, is eventually stopped.
85 mins: As we stand, then, Morocco win the group and will play one of the third-placed sides; Ivory Coast come second and play the winner of Group E (currently Mali), while South Africa finish third and, if they go through, will play Egypt or Madagascar.
83 mins: GOOOOAAALLLLL! Yes, it’s 3-1 to Ivory Coast in the other game, Wilfried Zaha, apparently subject of a bid from Arsenal today, has scored it with a hard, low shot that sped under the diving keeper.
80 mins: Another substitution. Zungu trudges off, and Hlompho Kekana comes on. Zungu takes a ludicrous amount of time to reach the touchline, which tells you everything you need to know about South Africa’s approach to the remainder of this game. It seems they have decided that a draw will do.
78 mins: Dirar has gone to the right flank, shunting Amrabat back over to the left. He tries a cross from there, which goes to the nearest defender.
75 mins: Morocco bring Nabil Dirar on, replacing Mazraoui.
74 mins: And another save! What a game this is turning into! Amrabat crosses from the right, En-Nesyri heads straight at Williams, and this match is fast becoming mildly interesting.
73 mins: South Africa take off Lebo Mothiba, and bring on Lars Veldwijk.
71 mins: GOOOOAAAAALLLLL to Namibia in the other game. Joslin Kamatuka has scored it. It’s now 2-1 to Ivory Coast there.
69 mins: What a chance for Morocco! Amrabat’s pass through the defence is fabulous, and El-Nesyri runs onto it, goes round the goalkeeper (he could perhaps have taken the penalty he would surely have been awarded had he gone down at this point) and then, off balance and eight yards wide of goal, he shoots hard, confidently and absurdly wide, as if he thought the goal was somewhere entirely different to where it actually was.
68 mins: Morocco are starting to look like the side stuffed with highly-rated players with experience of Europe’s top leagues, and South Africa’s like a squad that isn’t.
64 mins: Morocco hit the bar! It’s a beautiful first-time lay-off from Ziyech infield to Hakimi, and from 25 yards the full-back curls an absolute beauty of a shot that hits the underside of the bar, bounces down and away from goal.
61 mins: An hour gone, and something interesting still hasn’t happened. If it weren’t for those two dodgy offside decisions in the first half, both involving Youssef En-Nesyri, things might all be different.
57 mins: GOOOAAAALLLL! Ivory Coast have scored it, in the other Group D game. They now lead Namibia 2-0. On the downside, this means that even if South Africa end up winning this one 1-0 there will no longer be a drawing of lots to decide the top three spots, as there might have been had the score in the other game remained at as it was.
56 mins: I’m sure the first half was played entirely in daylight, but it’s the dead of night now. At some point around half-time the sun set with a vengeance.
54 mins: A substitution! Karim El Ahmadi is going off, and Youssef Bennasser is coming on.
52 mins: A corner has been won, by South Africa. And it has been headed clear.
49 mins: The ball hits the back of the net! It’s a blistering drive from Thamsanqa Mkhize, but it goes a couple of yards wide before rebounding off an advertising hoarding into the aforementioned netting.
47 mins: If a team from this group claims one of the four spots for third-placed teams in the knock-out rounds, they will face either Egypt or Madagascar. One of those fates would be very much worth avoiding.
46 mins: South Africa kick off, and half two is under way.
The players are back out. The only way is up!
In tonight’s other game it’s Namibia 0-1 Ivory Coast, and as it stands it’s they and Morocco who will qualify automatically from Group D.
It’s been a disappointing game so far, but I suspect that both sides would be reasonably happy with the point they are currently getting. Still, we live in hope.
Half time: South Africa 0-0 Morocco
45+2 mins: The first half is complete. To sum up the key incidents from the opening period: Morocco had a shot on target.
45+1 mins: We are in stoppage time. There have been a lot of stoppages, but there will be only one minute of additional time.
Updated
44 mins: The referee just refused an opportunity to award a free-kick, after Zungu went down not far from the edge of Morocco’s penalty area.
42 mins: Amrabat is seeing more of the ball since his switch to the right (or during the periods when he’s on the right, anyway) but he continues to demonstrate the inability to accurately cross it that Watford fans will be so familiar with.
40 mins: 14 free-kicks, apparently, at the rate of one every two and a half minutes or so.
39 mins: Another foul, this one on Mothiba. There have been a lot of free kicks.
36 mins: Amrabat, who appears to be switching wings every 30 seconds or so, crosses but it comes off Mkhwanazi and deflects into the arms of Ronwen Williams. Amrabat thinks it came off the defender’s arm, but it looks like a header on the replays.
35 mins: And then a save at the other end! Amrabat’s lovely cross looks destined for En-Nesyri’s head, but somehow he gets nothing on it. The ball is headed clear, but Belhanda runs onto it 22 yards out and hammers a low shot goalwards, but it’s a straightforward stop.
34 mins: Oooof! Nearly a goal for South Africa! Percy Tau checks onto his left foot, scampers across the edge of the area and shoots just wide of the far post!
31 mins: Bongani Zungu becomes the second name in the referee’s book, for a foul on Amrabat, who has switched to the right on a semi-permanent basis.
29 mins: I’d really like to have more to tell you, but almost all of the play is happening more than 40 yards from either goal. Amrabat pops up on the right and tries to cross, but doesn’t succeed.
24 mins: En-Nesyri is played through again, is given offside again, and it looks very much like he wasn’t again.
21 mins: “Any hope for Bafana to pull this off and qualify?” wonders Ian van Reenen. “I’m clearly desperate.” Certainly, given that four of the six third-placed teams will go through. A draw here will most probably be enough.
19 mins: A shot! The first of the day by my count, and it comes from the right foot of Younes Belhanda, who is lurking beyond the far post when the cross from that free-kick is headed straight to him.
18 mins: A first booking, and Themba Zwane is the man punished, for pushing the Morocco captain, M’Bark Boussoufa, in the back.
15 mins: A hint of a chance for South Africa, thanks to a smart dummy on the edge of the area, but all they get from it is a corner, which is headed clear.
12 mins: Very little by way of goalmouth action to report. What I can tell you is that the referee, Jean Jacques Ngambo, appears quite fond of his whistle.
8 mins: We have seen very little so far of Amrabat, who has had an excellent tournament so far. The most I can say of him is that he was standing nearby when Serero was caught by El Ahmadi. There was little contact, but much reaction.
5 mins: Chance for Morocco! Ziyech plays a beautifully-time and weighted pass from the halfway line to Youssef En-Nesyri. He is given offside, so strictly speaking it wasn’t a chance at all, but he wasn’t actually offside, so it should have been.
Updated
3 mins: South Africa win a corner, and attempt a rehearsed manoeuvre of complete idiocy which involves Percy Tau passing into the area, where a player who has peeled away into space returns it to Tau, who is offside. Free kick to Morocco.
2 mins: Early days, of course, but South Africa have started with greater urgency.
1 min: We’re under way!
Anthems done, both teams are having a little pre-match huddle, and we’ll soon by under way.
The players are out, and the national anthems are being played. South Africa’s anthem starts superbly, I think, but then meanders along disappointingly before eventually giving up.
The sun is shining over Cairo, and the stands of the al-Salam stadium are very slightly more populated than they would be on a day when there isn’t a match on. Still, there’s plenty of time before kick-off.
The players have arrived, and seem in good voice:
#BafanaBafana always arrives in style😂🕺and #AtlasLions just joined the house!🎉#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/r4HgYGhyTB
— CAF (@CAF_Online) July 1, 2019
The teams are in, and here they jolly well are:
South Africa: Williams, Mkhize, Hlanti, Mkhwanazi, Hlatshwayo, Mokotjo, Zwane, Zungu, Serero, Mothiba, Tau.
Morocco: Munir, Mazraoui, Da Costa, Saiss, Hakimi, El Ahmadi, Boussoufa, Ziyech, Belhanda, Amrabat, En Nesyri.
Hello world!
For Group D and at least one of the teams in it, the end is nigh. So far, every single game in the group has ended 1-0, the upshot being that Morocco are safely through with six points, while Ivory Coast and South Africa are tied on three points apiece with identical records but for the fact that Ivory Coast won the game between them. Namibia, with no points, require a healthy and apparently unlikely victory over Ivory Coast if they are to progress, but for the rest it’s game very much on.
Hervé Renard, Morocco’s French coach, revealed before the game that he has previously been approached by South Africa, but failed to reach an agreement with them because “of course I am not cheap”. Stuart Baxter currently has the job, which may or may mean that he is cheap. “South Africa have a lot of very good players,” Renard added. “They also have a good coach so it will be a tough game.” Based on South Africa’s performances against Ivory Coast and Namibia, this is a very generous assessment.
Important information department: Renard is French for fox. Baxter meanwhile, to quote Wikipedia, is “originally from the English occupational surname meaning ‘baker’, from the early Middle English bakstere and the Old English bæcere. The form Bakster was originally feminine, with Baker as the masculine equivalent.” The fact that baxter is to baker as bride is to groom is the most interesting thing I have learned today.
So, that’s the scene set. How’s things?
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