Boufal Gives Morocco Vital Win against Ghana

Morocco handed Ghana’s Black Stars a 1-0 defeat in their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon yesterday.
Sofiane Boufal’s late strike won full points for The Atlas Lions in the Group C fixture at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé.
Having joined camp late on Saturday, Kamaldeen Sulemana’s presence in the starting XI was the biggest surprise as Ghana named their side for Monday’s showdown.
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey led Ghana’s midfield while Genk forward Joseph Paintsil started on the left-wing.
Without key strikers Youssef En-Nesyri and Ayoub El Kaabi, Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic handed a starting berth to AZ Alkmaar youngster Zakaria Aboukhlal as lead marksman.
Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi unsurprisingly started at right-back for The Atlas Lions.

In what was a slow start to the game, Aboukhlal registered the first shot on target in the 14th minute after latching onto a misplaced Partey pass to fire a shot into the arms of goalkeeper Joseph Wollacott.
In the 33rd minute, Partey drove a free-kick over the bar after Jordan Ayew was fouled outside the box.
Five minutes to half-time at the other end, Romain Saiss headed a free-kick over the bar.
The lack of clear openings continued even after the recess, leaving the goalkeepers with little to do.

ALL THE GROUPS

GROUP A

Team. P. W D L GF GA GD PTS

Cameroon 1. 1. 0. 0 2. 1. 1. 3

Cape Verde 1. 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1. 3.

B’Faso 1. 0. 0 1. 1. 2. -1. 0

Ethiopia 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1. -1. 0.

GROUP B

Team. P. W D L GF GA GD PTS

Guinea 1. 1 0. 0. 1. 0. 1. 3

Senegal 1. 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1 3

Malawi 1. 0. 0 1 0. 1. -1. 0

Zimbabwe 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1. -1 0

GROUP C

Team. P. W D L GF GA GD PTS

Gabon. 1. 1. 0. 0 1. 0. 1. 3

Morocco 1. 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1. 3

Ghana 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1. -1 0

Comoros 1. 0. 0 1. 0 1. -1. 0

GROUP D

Team. P. W D L GF GA GD PTS

Egypt 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

G’Bissau 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

Nigeria 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

Sudan 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

GROUP E

Team. P. W D L GF GA GD PTS

Algeria 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

Ivory Coast 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

E’Guinea 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

S’Leone 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

GROUP F

Team. P. W D L GF GA GD PTS

Gambia 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

Mali 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

Mauritania 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0

Tunisia 0. 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0. 0