- Azzedine Ounahi scored a brace for Morocco
- Morocco qualify for the World Cup for the sixth time
- Pressure has now eased on coach Vahid Halilhodžić
Morocco’s Atlas Lions made easy work of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, winning 4-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate to sail into their sixth World Cup appearance.
The two teams came into the return tie evenly poised following a 1-1 draw in Kinshasa last week, but the Congolese could not match up Morocco at home, and the intimidating atmosphere in Casablanca didn’t help them much either as they crumbled like a cookie.
Azzedine Ounahi put up a superb performance, scoring a brace with Tarik Tissoudali and Achraf Hakimi adding one each to the massive victory. Ben Malango scored DR Congo’s consolation, but it couldn’t spark any form of a comeback as the Moroccans had the game in their grasp.
“It is a great day for Moroccan football and the people of Morocco. This has been our dream and we have achieved it,” coach Vahid Halilhodžić said after the match.
The Bosnian trainer had come increasingly under pressure especially after their flat performance in Kinshasa where they scored a late equalizer courtesy of Tissoudali. He however answered his critics with a superb performance.
-Ounahi opener-
The Moroccans dominated the game from the start and they broke the deadlock after 21 minutes when Ounahi struck a sublime shot from the edge of the box after a patient build up.
There was a long stoppage however when goalkeeper Yassine Bounou had to be stitched on the pitch after suffering a massive cut on his forehead and after a stoppage of almost 12 minutes, the game resumed with Morocco still holding on to the steering gear.
They doubled the lead in the seventh of 12 added minutes when Tissoudali collected the ball at the edge of the box after some poor handling at the back from Chancel Mbemba, drove in and showed great composure to score one on one with the keeper.
In the second half, it took Morocco nine minutes of the restart to make it 3-0, Ounahi completing his brace after collecting Tissoudali’s pass inside the box and slamming the ball past the keeper.
-Hakimi completes job-
Hakimi then completed the rout in the 69th minute when he reacted quickest to a spilled ball from the keeper before burying home.
Malango, a former player of Casablanca based club raja Club Athletic scored Morocco’s consolation with a brilliant strike. The forward who now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al Sharjah controlled Cedric Bakambu’s pass at the edge of the box before striking a belter of a volley from the edge of the box.
Despite the beautiful goal, there was nothing more the Congolese could offer. Forwards Neskeens Kebano and Dieumerci Mbokani came in for the final five minutes, but their efforts bore no fruits as under-no-pressure Morocco controlled the tempo to earn a ticket.
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