Zambia’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign came to an abrupt end following a heavy 3–0 defeat to Morocco in their final Group A match on Monday. Chipolopolo struggled to match Morocco’s intensity from the outset and fell behind in the ninth minute when Ayoub El Kaabi finished clinically to give the Atlas Lions an early lead. The early setback unsettled the Zambian side, who failed to gain a foothold as Morocco dominated possession and controlled the tempo of the match.
Morocco doubled their advantage before the half-hour mark through Brahim Diaz, leaving Zambia chasing the game heading into the break. Any hopes of a comeback were effectively extinguished early in the second half when El Kaabi completed his brace with a spectacular overhead kick, a goal that was confirmed after a VAR review. Zambia were unable to mount a meaningful response as Morocco comfortably saw out the match to secure qualification to the knockout stages.
Elsewhere in Group A, Mali progressed to the Round of 16 after holding Comoros to a goalless draw in Casablanca. Despite being reduced to ten men late on following the dismissal of Amadou Haidara, Mali did enough to advance alongside Morocco. The results confirmed Zambia’s elimination from the tournament, bringing an early end to Chipolopolo’s AFCON 2025 journey. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
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