Hakim Zigeh shot Morocco in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations as Group F winners after a 1-0 win Zambia.
The Chelsea midfielder, currently on loan at Turkey’s Galatasaray, scored the only goal of the game at the Stade Laurent Pokou in San Pedro with an emphatic finish seven minutes before the break.
That was enough to earn the three points and top spot with DR Congo in contention for second place after a 0-0 draw with Tanzania, meaning Zambia’s participation is over.
DR Congo advanced to the knockouts and Tanzania bowed out after a 0-0 draw between the teams in Korhogo.
The second half saw Brentford’s Yoane Wissa deny Tanzanian goalkeeper Aishi Manula and send a shot wide as DR Congo drew a third game out of three in Group F.
Sebastien Desabre’s side finish second in the pool behind Morocco and face Egypt in the round of 16 on Sunday.
A tumultuous campaign for Tanzania, which included the suspension of coach Adel Amrouche after comments about the Moroccan FA and assistant Hemed Suleiman as acting boss, ends with the two points.
Earlier, South Africa advanced to the 16 me Tunisia crashes as the teams played out a 0-0 draw in their final Group E match in Korhogo.
Tunisian substitute Haythem Jouini took the lead from a fine spot late on as the 2004 champions failed to secure the win they needed to keep their campaign alive.
While Jalel Kadri’s side finish bottom of the group with two points, Hugo Broos’ South Africa come through with four β claiming second place behind Mali. Broos’ men play Morocco in San-Pedro next Tuesday.
Namibiawith whom Yes 0-0 draw on Wednesday, they have also qualified for the next round as one of the four best thirds in the group stage.