Having stumbled to their second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations draw, the Moroccan camp are hoping a late turnaround can keep their tournament hopes alive.
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The Atlas Lions were left licking their wounds after they failed to beat AFCON newcomers Cape Verde on Wednesday, with a late goal from Youssef El-Arabi earning them a 1-1 draw.
For a team with such a rich football heritage and a squad with a number of players established in Europe, the result was a frustrating one.
"A very disappointing result because we hoped we would win this game," defender Ahmed Kantari told Football411. "Unfortunately we were bad in the first half and while we were better in the second half it was not enough to win games."
Morocco now need to beat South Africa on Sunday to book their place in the quarter-finals and having seen the hosts burst into live against Angola, Kantari knows this will not be an easy task - but one that is achievable.
"We are confident because we have a lot of good players in our team, players who play in big teams so we have to be strong mentally," he explained.
Lions coach Rachid Taoussi conceded after the match that his side had underestimated the strength of Cape Verde.
"I realised that we didn't take Cape Verde as serious as we should have so we played in an irresponsible way. There is a difference in the way we played and the way we planned for this game," he said.
"We made a lot of mistakes tonight. It took a bit of time for our players to catch the rhythm of this game. The first half was not good but we recovered well in the second half.
"The Moroccan people will be disappointed with the way we played in the first half. But we still have another three points to play for."





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