Hosts Morocco defeated South Africa 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Saturday to book a place in the semi-finals and secure qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The qualification marks only the second time Morocco will feature at the Women’s World Cup, following their debut at the 2023 tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Morocco opened the scoring before Hanan Ait El Haj extended their lead from the penalty spot in the 51st minute.
South Africa responded through Thembi Kgatlana, who pulled a goal back in the 67th minute to revive her side’s hopes of completing a comeback.
However, Morocco held firm for the remainder of the match to preserve their 2-1 lead and advance to the last four.
The result also gives Morocco revenge of sorts for their previous WAFCON meeting with South Africa, when the two sides faced each other in the 2022 final, with South Africa emerging 2-1 winners.
In the other quarter-final played on Saturday, Algeria recovered from a goal down to defeat Côte d’Ivoire 2-1.
The remaining quarter-finals are scheduled for Sunday, with defending champions Nigeria’s Super Falcons set to face Cameroon, while Ghana will take on tournament surprise package Malawi.