Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Libya through to semi-finals of CHAN tournament 2018

[Photo:Courtesy]

Sudan, Morocco, Nigeria and Libya booked their place in the semi-finals of the African Nations Championship on Sunday, eliminating Zambia, Namibia, Angola and Congo respectively, in Morocco.

The hosts thrashed Namibia 2-0 in their quarter-finals on Saturday January 27 to book a place in the semi-finals in an eventful match. Goals from Ayoub El Kaabi in the 36’ minute and Salaheddine Saidi in the 55’ minute propelled Morocco to the last four.

Sudan shocked Zambia to reach semi-finals after beating them 1-0. Zambia started the game promisingly with some early chances for Augustine Mulenga and Kondwani Mtonga but were knocked out after Seifeldin Bakhit scored the only goal of the game in the 32’ minute.

Nigeria won 2-1 against Angola in a match that seemed to be the end of the Super Eagles hopes in the 2018 CHAN.  Nigeria were forced to dig deeper after Vladimiro Edson 55’ goal for Angola, to find the winning magic which fortunately they found when Anthony Akpotu scored in the 90+1 minute to make it level as the referee was prepared to blow the final whistle.  Okechukwu Gabriel was the hero for Nigeria as he grabbed the winner after 109 minutes of play.

Libya in an entertaining match, drew 1-1 with Congo on Sunday. Libyans took an early lead in the first half after Saleh Taher goal, but Junior Makiesse scored the equalizer for Congo after 32 minutes. The match ended draw after 90 minutes leading to extra time, but neither side would score as the match reached its conclusion. The Mediterranean Knights captured a 5-3 victory in a penalty shootout to book their place in the semi-finals.

Morocco will face Libya in the semi-finals on Wednesday January 31. Morocco won their only African Cup Nations in 1976 but reached the quarter finals in 2017 while Libya has never won the African Cup of Nations. This leaves Morocco as the favorites due to their experience in the cup.

In other match, Nigeria is set to play Sudan in the semi-finals on Wednesday January 31. Nigeria has won the cup three times in 1980, 1994 and 2013 while Sudan won the cup once in 1970. With their experience in the cup and the world cup, Nigeria looks as the favorites to qualify for the finals and win this year’s cup.