Morocco dominated the Central African Republic with a 5-0 win, while Serhou Guirassy scored a hat-trick to help Guinea beat Ethiopia 4-1 in the final round of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Saturday.
In Morocco’s match, Azzedine Ounahi scored twice, and Abde Ezzalzouli, Achraf Hakimi, and Soufiane Rahimi each added one goal. By halftime, Morocco was already leading 4-0, making it an easy win in Oujda. This was expected, as Morocco is ranked much higher than the Central African Republic, with a gap of 114 places in the rankings—the biggest difference in this round of qualifiers. Morocco’s five-goal victory tied the record for the largest win margin in 2024 AFCON qualifiers, matching South Africa’s 5-0 victory over Congo the previous day.
Even though Morocco has already qualified for AFCON as the host nation, they chose to play these competitive matches instead of friendlies. Now, the other teams in Group B—Gabon, Central African Republic, and Lesotho—are left to battle for the remaining qualification spot. The tournament will start on December 21, 2024, and run until January 18, 2026, making it the first time AFCON will take place over two years.
In Guinea’s game, Guirassy’s speed and strength were too much for Ethiopia to handle in Group H. The French-born Guinean striker scored the first goal from a penalty in the 18th minute, then added two more before halftime, firing powerful shots past the Ethiopian goalkeeper. This made him the top scorer in 2024 AFCON qualifiers, tied with Amine Gouiri of Algeria, Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan of Egypt, and Jean-Philippe Krasso of Ivory Coast.
Seydouba Cisse, who assisted Guirassy’s second goal, also got on the scoresheet early in the second half with a pass from Mady Camara. Guinea had struggled to score in previous matches but found the back of the net four times in this game. Ethiopia finally scored their first goal of the qualifiers in the 53rd minute, thanks to Kenean Markneh.
DR Congo leads Group H with nine points, sharing perfect records in qualifying with Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ivory Coast, and Morocco. Tanzania has four points, and Guinea has three, with their upcoming match in November likely deciding who finishes second and joins DR Congo at AFCON.
Matchday 4 kicks off Sunday with one game between Burundi and Burkina Faso, followed by eight matches on Monday and 15 on Tuesday.
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