Morocco's first loss since making it to the 2022 World Cup semifinals came on Saturday in a 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations qualification loss in South Africa due to a mistake by goalkeeper Munir el Kajoui.

Zambia thrashed the Ivory Coast 3-0 in Ndola to cap off a happy day for southern Africa and earn a spot in the finals for the first time since 2015.

Prior to their exciting Group K match in Johannesburg, which attracted 50,000 spectators despite near-freezing temperatures, South Africa and World Cup icons Morocco had already qualified.

Five minutes in, El Kajoui, filling in for a rested Yassine Bounou, let a Percy Tau cross escape his grasp and find the back of the net. In the 48th minute, Zakhele Lepasa added a second.

On the hour, Hakim Ziyech halved the deficit, but Morocco, who last December became the first African and Arab nation to reach the World Cup semifinals, was unable to score an equalizer.

The Atlas Lions won against Brazil and drew with Peru and Cape Verde in friendlies after coming in fourth in Qatar. The trip to Johannesburg signaled a comeback to athletic competition.

“We could have scored four or five goals against Morocco, who are currently the best team in Africa, and it is a great confidence booster to beat them,” said South Africa coach Hugo Broos.

“Having played in front of small crowds lately, it was wonderful to have so many people backing us, and I believe they left the stadium feeling very proud to be South Africans.”

The Moroccan coach Walid Regragui that has always led them to victory expressed his dissatisfaction over the outcome of the duel .

He said “Call me crazy if you wish for saying that, but you sometimes learn more from a loss than a win. My players were tired after a gruelling season of domestic and World Cup matches.”