Morocco and Senegal both picked up three points in their respective groups in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers. As a result, Senegal moved onto four points after two matches, having drawn with Mozambique in their opening game, while Morocco now have a perfect six points.Morocco controlled most of the first half against Lesotho, creating several opportunities but struggling to find the breakthrough until the very end. El Khannouss had Morocco’s first notable chance in the 10th minute, heading just wide from the right side of the box after Ounahi’s corner. El Khannouss was involved again nine minutes later, this time seeing his effort from outside the box saved by the Lesotho goalkeeper.##NAJAVA_MECA_9993147##Lesotho briefly threatened from a corner of their own, with Thabo Makhele heading wide in the 19th minute. Morocco continued to push forward, and El Ouahdi came close in the 21st minute when he fired just wide from the centre of the box after being picked out by Ounahi.The hosts had another good opportunity in the 36th minute when El Khannouss delivered a dangerous free-kick into the box. Diop got his head to the ball, but his effort went narrowly past the post.Morocco then came even closer four minutes later. After an excellent attacking move, Ounahi received the ball around 11 yards from goal with plenty of space, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.However, Morocco finally got their reward in the best possible moment. In the 45th minute, another well-worked attack ended with the Lesotho defence managing to block the ball, only for it to fall perfectly to Brahim Diaz. The Moroccan star made no mistake, calmly finding the net past the goalkeeper to give his side a 1-0 lead heading into half-time.Morocco continued to dominate proceedings after the break, maintaining control of possession and putting Lesotho under constant pressure. The first serious chance of the second half arrived in the 55th minute, when Saibari found himself in a promising position inside the box, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.Morocco remained firmly in control as the half progressed, with their dominance reflected in the statistics. By the 70th minute, they had enjoyed an impressive 81 percent of possession, leaving Lesotho with very little opportunity to dictate the game.Ounahi tried to add a second goal in the 79th minute after receiving the ball on the edge of the box, but his effort lacked power and failed to seriously trouble the goalkeeper.However, Ounahi would not have to wait long for his reward. Just three minutes later, he finally found the back of the net to double Morocco's advantage. The midfielder received a well-weighted pass from the left, worked himself into a good shooting position inside the box and calmly finished to make it 2-0.ETHIOPIA – SENEGALOn the other side, Senegal took a 1-0 lead into half-time against Ethiopia after a lively opening 45 minutes in which both sides created opportunities. Ethiopia looked to apply pressure early on, with Abel Yalew receiving the ball through the middle and trying his luck from outside the box, although his effort was deflected by the Senegalese defence.Senegal, however, struck first in the 10th minute. Nicolas Jackson did well near the edge of the box to set up Ibrahim Mbaye, who made no mistake from the centre of the area, firing a right-footed shot past Nura to put Senegal ahead.Ethiopia continued searching for a response and came close in the 22nd minute. Panom built the move down the right before finding Fikru, who entered the box and attempted a low diagonal finish with his left foot, but his shot missed the target.Senegal nearly doubled their advantage six minutes later from a corner. Diouf delivered into the box, where Diao rose highest and directed a header towards the left corner, only to see the effort go wide.Ethiopia continued to push for an equaliser as the half progressed, with Fikru once again finding himself in a promising position in the 43rd minute. After being set up by Markneh, the midfielder fired from the centre of the box, but his right-footed effort missed the target.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Senegal continued to hold onto their narrow advantage after the break, although Ethiopia came close to finding an equaliser in the 57th minute. Kenean Markneh met a cross from Chernet Gugsa with a header from the centre of the box, but Yéhvann Diouf was alert and made an excellent save to keep the Senegalese lead intact.The game became an increasingly tight contest as the second half progressed. In the 74th minute, Ibrahim Mbaye tried his luck from outside the box, but his right-footed effort went wide. Ethiopia responded moments later when Fitsum Tilahun received the ball on the left after a pass from Beneyam Belay and fired across the face of goal, only to miss the target.##NAJAVA_MECA_9995289##Senegal had a golden opportunity to put the game beyond doubt in the 85th minute. Nicolas Jackson controlled the ball inside the box before sending a low, diagonal shot towards the corner, but Ethiopian goalkeeper Nura made another important save.Despite Senegal's efforts to find a second goal and Ethiopia's attempts to level the score, neither side managed to find the net in the second half, allowing Senegal to preserve their 1-0 lead.2027 AFCON QUALIFIERSAfrica Cup of Nations qualificationRound 2MondayCAR – Burkina Faso 0-1 (0-1)/Camara 60/Equatorial Guinea – Sierra Leone 1-0 (1-0)/Zuniga 1/Zimbabwe – DR Congo 1-2 (0-2)/Munetsi 90+3 – Wissa 30, Moutoussamy 45+2/Tunisia – Botswana 2-2 (1-1)/Mastouri 44,49 – Kgamanyane 37, Ditsele 60/TuesdayComores – Namibia 1-0 (0-0)/Youssouf 53/Burundi – Algeria 2-2 (2-1)/Chaibi 5 og, Girumugisha 12 – Belloumi 30, Boulbina 63/Ethiopia – Senegal 0-1 (0-1)/Mbaye 11/Lesotho – Morocco 0-2 (0-1)/Diaz 45, Ounahi 82/Madagascar – Tanzania IN ACTIONMozambique – Sudan 4-1 (1-0)/Witi 24, Alfandega 46, 62, Guimaraes 58 – Hamed 88 pen/South Sudan – Egypt 0-4 (0-1)/Ziko 36, Marmoush 49, 83, Adel 75, Abdelkarim 90+2/19.00: (1.47) Cape Verde (3.70) Rwanda (7.75)19.00: (1.60) Ghana (3.60) Gambia (5.60)19.00: (8.00) Guinea B. (3.90) Nigeria (1.43)19.00: (2.00) Uganda (3.05) Libya (3.90)19.00: (2.20) Zambia (3.05) Togo (3.35)20.00: (2.40) Benin (3.00) Mauritania (3.00)22.00: (6.25) Congo (3.60) Cameroon (1.55)22.00: (1.57) Gabon (3.50) Niger (6.25)22.00: (7.50) Liberia (3.90) Mali (1.45)22.00: (30.0) Somalia (13.0) Ivory Coast (1.03)***odds are subject to change***
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