Morocco 1-0 Cote d'Ivoire: 5 Talking Points | African Cup of Nations 2019

#2 The Moroccans link up splendidly

Goal celebrations.

Other teams entering the knockout stages will have to be cautious about Morocco's ability to link up play with seemingly no effort.

While the solitary goal of the game has been discussed in this article, it's just the tip of the iceberg. The Moroccans have mastered their positions, especially in counterattacks.

Another chance was created when Achraf Hakimi started a counter-attack that linked up to Amrabat who dummied unexpectedly, setting up En-Nesyri for yet another shot. However, Sylvain Gbohouo, the Ivorian goalkeeper, met his effort with a save.

In yet another beautiful link up piece of play, the Moroccans took the ball into the final third of the Elephants' end with surreal efficiency.

Trying to cap the move with a goal, Hakimi layed it on for Boussoufa who sent the ball across the box to a very unmarked Noussair Mazraoui who unluckily hit the bar with his side-footed effort.

---

#3 The Moroccans totally dominated the game

The Ivorians could not keep the Moroccans down.

Nearly every statistic in the game showed that Ivory Coast were no match for this Moroccan side.

In shots at goal and chances created, Morocco had more. In possession and counter-attacking, Morocco took the win. In aerial duels, the Moroccans won 61% of the time. In successful passes, dribbles, and tackles, Morocco took the outplayed their opponents.

Cote d'Ivoire played a good game, and they had some quality time with the ball. However, their less decisive gameplay and perhaps Kamara's decision to leave Wilifred Zaha out of the game played a major part in their inability to find the net throughout the game.