By Kunle Solaja, Rabat

Morocco booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 with a narrow 1–0 victory over Tanzania in Rabat on Sunday, as Brahim Diaz delivered another decisive moment to underline the hosts’ title ambitions.

It was a testing evening for the Atlas Lions at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, where dominance in possession did not immediately translate into clear chances. Tanzania, organised and resolute, sat deep and closed spaces effectively, forcing Morocco into patient build-up play and frustrating the home crowd.

Captained by Achraf Hakimi for the first time at this edition, Morocco thought they had broken the deadlock midway through the first half when Ismail Saibari finished from close range, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside in the 24th minute. The setback summed up a subdued opening half, which ended in a goalless draw.

Walid Regragui’s side returned with greater urgency after the interval. Diaz immediately signalled intent with a glancing header that forced a corner, before Bilal El Khannouss fired narrowly over in the 52nd minute as Morocco began to turn the screw.

Tanzania, however, nearly stunned the hosts against the run of play. Feisal Toto found himself unmarked inside the penalty area in the 56th minute but sent his effort high over the bar, missing a rare and golden opportunity.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 63rd minute, sparked by individual brilliance. Diaz cut inside and finished from a tight angle to beat the goalkeeper and ignite celebrations among the capacity crowd. The goal was his fourth of the tournament, taking him clear at the top of the scoring charts.

“The competition is growing in intensity, and we have just faced our toughest opposition so far,” Diaz reflected afterwards. “Not everything worked, but fortunately, we managed to secure our qualification. Now we will go back to work to be fully ready for the quarter-finals.”

Despite continued pressure and several half-chances, Morocco were unable to add to their lead. Tanzania remained competitive until the final whistle but could not find a way back as the hosts held firm.

Regragui acknowledged both the difficulty of the contest and his team’s improvement after the break. “We knew it was not going to be easy,” the Morocco coach said. “The first half was not good, but I recognised my team much more in the second half. The most important thing is qualification.”

The coach also confirmed a major setback, revealing that Azzedine Ounahi is out of the tournament after picking up an injury in training. “We are losing an exceptional player and a leader in our dressing room, but we will continue to fight for him,” Regragui added.

On the opposing bench, Tanzania head coach Miguel Ángel Gamondi took pride in his side’s performance despite elimination. “I am so proud of what my team produced, both in their attitude and tactically,” he said. “They showed that the gap between Morocco and us is not as big as people think. We will come back stronger.”

With the win, Morocco advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face the winner of the Round of 16 clash between South Africa and Cameroon at the Stade Al Madina, as the hosts’ quest for continental glory gathers momentum.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

By Kunle Solaja, Tangier, enroute Rabat

Morocco’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Moha OU Ali Tagma, has expressed delight in the Super Eagles’ good run in Fez and wishes the team the best of luck in the Round of 16 match with Mozambique on Monday.

In a message to the Sports Village Square, the ambassador expressed his personal delight that the Nigerians are playing in the Fez region, which happens to be his region of origin.

“They are playing in my region, as I am from Azrou and Ifrane. What a delightful coincidence. My diplomatic mission is in Nigeria, and Nigeria is playing in my region!”

Fez has become a sort of home for Nigerian teams as they are yet to lose any match in the region, which sit in the mid region of the stretched Atlas range of mountains.

The mountain city has increasingly felt like home ground for Nigerian teams. Set in the heart of the Atlas range, the city boasts a rare and proud Nigerian record: no Nigerian side has ever lost a competitive match there.

In 1994, Shooting Stars pulled a stunning 1-1 with the home team, MAS Fez, in an African Cup of Champions game. The Super Eagles have played three matches in Fez and won all, becoming one of the only two of the 24 teams of AFCON 2025 to achieve the feat.

The Super Eagles’ flawless Fez record places Nigeria among only two of the 24 teams at AFCON 2025 to have won every match played in a single host city — an achievement that has added to the aura surrounding Monday’s showdown.

As Fez prepares to host its final match of the tournament, the Moroccan ambassador’s message blends diplomacy, heritage and footballing pride — and carries a clear wish: that the Super Eagles extend their perfect Fez story with victory over Mozambique and march confidently into the quarter-final.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

By Sola Fanawopo, Fez

Nothing educates you better than travel if you are a true student of life. My movement across the Fès region over the past two weeks has been a quiet masterclass in how towns, culture, and policy intersect.

How CAF arrived at choosing Fès as the Super Eagles’ base still invites explanation. But having lived here through rain, routines, and matchday rhythms, there is little to complain about.

For anyone currently in Fès waiting for the Super Eagles’ next match on Monday, take this advice seriously: visit Ifrane and Azrou. You will thank yourself later.

What becomes immediately clear is that Morocco does not debate development in theory—it demonstrates it in geography.

Within a short stretch of the Middle Atlas corridor sit three towns—Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès—each offering a different answer to the same national question:

How do you build a modern state without erasing your soul?

This contrast is not accidental. It is strategic.

Ifrane: The Discipline of Planning

Ifrane is often dismissed as artificial, “un-Moroccan,” or excessively European. That criticism misses the point. Ifrane was never meant to imitate Morocco; it was meant to test order.

Wide roads, controlled zoning, disciplined green spaces, and environmental restraint define the city. It is designed for governance, learning, and retreat—not chaos or improvisation.

The presence of Al Akhawayn University reinforces this logic. Ifrane functions as Morocco’s laboratory of patience—a proof that when the state plans deliberately, it can produce calm, functionality, and dignity.

The lesson is not that all cities should look like Ifrane.

The lesson is that planning is not a colonial vice; it is a civilisational tool.

Prepare for the snow in Ifrane—this is why it is called Little Switzerland. You will enjoy it. I did.

Azrou: Culture That Lives, Not Museums

If Ifrane is disciplined, Azrou is breath.

Azrou is not preserved—it is alive. Markets spill into streets, conversations stretch deep into cafés, and Amazing identity is not curated for visitors; it is practiced daily. This is Morocco at the human scale.

Yet Azrou also exposes a familiar African dilemma: authentic towns are often left under-invested, as though culture alone is sufficient. It is not.

Culture thrives best when supported by infrastructure, sanitation, and opportunity. Azrou’s greatest asset is its people. Its weakness is the state’s hesitation to match that human energy with serious, sustained planning.

You will also enjoy a memorable meal here. The town’s name—linked to stone—feels apt, given the imposing granite formations in the area.

Fès: Memory as Power

Fès does not compete with modern cities; it commands them.

As Morocco’s spiritual and intellectual capital, Fès is where law, religion, craftsmanship, and scholarship once converged to produce a civilisation that radiated across North and West Africa.

Institutions like the University of al-Qarawiyyin remind us that African modernity did not begin with Europe. Ask deliberately for the Medina and visit the university—the exposure is profound.

But Fès also bears the weight of its greatness. Preservation collides daily with congestion, poverty, and modern demands. Still, Morocco resists the temptation to erase Fès for convenience. Instead, it protects it—imperfectly, yes—but intentionally.

That choice matters.

A nation that abandons its memory soon loses its direction.

The Intelligence in the Contrast

What makes Morocco exceptional is not simply that it has Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès. It is that it allows all three to exist without forcing them into a single model.

Planned order, organic culture, and historical authority are not enemies. They are complementary pillars of nation-building.

Many African countries—Nigeria, especially—fall into a recurring trap:

modernity without memory

culture without structure

history without renewal

Morocco shows another way. It segments purpose, protects differences, and coordinates development without cultural panic.

The Quiet Lesson

The Middle Atlas corridor is a silent lecture in statecraft.

It teaches that development is not about copying cities but assigning roles. Some places must preserve memory. Some must carry daily life. Some must experiment with the future.

Nations fail not because they lack resources, but because they lack this clarity.

In Ifrane, Azrou, and Fès, Morocco reveals a deeper truth:

Development is not noise—it is intelligence made visible.

Sola Fanawopo, is a journalist and Chairman Osun Football Association

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H