Story by Mthokozisi Dube
MOROCCO moved to the brink of the FIFA World Cup knockout stages after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Scotland in their second Group C match.
The result lifted the North Africans to four points from two matches, leaving them firmly in control of their qualification prospects heading into the final round of group fixtures.
Fellow African side Côte d’Ivoire also remain in contention for a place in the next round after collecting three points from their opening two matches.
Elsewhere, the tournament produced its first eliminations, with Haiti and Türkiye becoming the first teams to exit the competition.
Türkiye’s hopes of progression ended following a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay in Group D, leaving their final group-stage encounter against the United States on 26 June with only pride to play for.
Haiti were also eliminated after a 3-0 loss to Brazil, a result that left them rooted to the bottom of Group C and mathematically out of contention.
Meanwhile, Egypt, Cape Verde and South Africa remain in the race for knockout-stage qualification.
Groups G and H are still finely poised, with all four teams in each pool separated by just a single point as the battle for places in the next round intensifies.
