Morocco's Boufal out while Ziyech doubtful for Cup of Nations last-16 clash

Coach Walid Regragui stated on Monday that Morocco will have to cope without Sofiane Boufal and may also be without Hakim Ziyech, a crucial attacker, in their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 clash against South Africa on Tuesday.

Boufal, a member of Morocco's squad that made it to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar 14 months ago, sustained an injury during training over the weekend.

During a press conference, Regragui expressed his concern about Boufal's injury, stating, "I believe his participation in the Cup of Nations is over, and we have lost a crucial player.

The injury occurred during training, just as it could have happened during a match. It is a muscle injury that will likely prevent him from completing the tournament, unless a miracle occurs. As it stands now, the situation is very complicated for Sofiane."

In their last Group F game against Zambia, Ziyech scored the winning goal in the first half, securing a 1-0 victory for Morocco. However, he had to be substituted at halftime due to an ankle injury.

Regragui mentioned that a decision regarding Ziyech's participation will be made at the last possible moment. He explained, "Ziyech suffered a kick to the ankle during the match against Zambia.

We will make every effort to have him on the field, and if necessary, we are willing to take a risk because we want our best players to be part of the team. It would be disrespectful to South Africa and to football in general to assume that we can do without Hakim Ziyech and still expect to reach the quarter-finals."

Morocco entered the tournament as one of the favorites and finished at the top of their group. South Africa, on the other hand, secured the runner-up position in Group E.

Interestingly, South Africa is the only team to have defeated Morocco in their 12 matches since the World Cup. Both countries were in the same qualifying group for the tournament in the Ivory Coast.