2021 AFCON: Match Facts – Morocco v Malawi

Morocco Atlas Lions face Malawi Flames on Tuesday in Yaounde, for the account of the Round of 16 of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021.

Match Card

• Date: 25 January 2022
• Time: 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT)
• Venue: Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaounde
• Round of 16
• Game: Morocco v Malawi

Following are the Match Facts from Opta:

● This will be the first meeting between Morocco and Malawi at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Morocco have only lost one of their last 11 games when facing an opponent in the competition for the first time (W7 D3) – 2-3 v Gabon in 2012.

● Malawi will contest their first game in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations, in what will be their 10th game in the competition overall. They have only won two of the previous nine (D2 L5), but are unbeaten in two games coming into this one (W1 D1).

● Since the start of the 2019 tournament, Morocco have kept a clean sheet in five of their seven games at the Africa Cup of Nations, conceding only three goals in total. Two of those goals did come in their most recent outing, however, in a 2-2 draw with Gabon on MD3.

● Malawi had the lowest possession average of any team during the group stage of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (31.5%). Indeed, they have recorded a sequence of 10+ passes from open play only twice so far, which is also a competition-low figure.

● As well as being Morocco’s top scorer in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (two goals), Sofiane Boufal has also created 10 chances for a teammate; one of only two players in the current tournament with 10+ during the group stage, along with Algeria’s Youcef Belaïli (12).