Hosts Morocco progressed confidently to the round of 16 in front of a fully packed home crowd at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the final match of Group A beating Zambia 3-0 to top the pool heading into the knockout stages.
The match began with a relentless high press from the hosts, which paid dividends as early as the ninth minute.
Ayoub El Kaabi broke the deadlock with a clinical close-range header, latching onto a pinpoint cross from Azzedine Ounahi following a cleverly executed short corner.
Morocco roar at home to progress comfortably into knockouts
Before the break, Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz doubled the advantage, weaving through the defense to fire home from close range for his third goal of the campaign.
By finding the net tonight, Brahim Diaz became only the second player in history to score in three consecutive matches for Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations. He joins the legendary Ahmed Faras, who set the record during the 1972 and 1976 editions.
El Kaabi would then bag a brace for himself netting a wonderful bicycle kick ,his second of the tournament in the second half.
There was a brief moment of silence as the goal was checked by VAR for a potential offside in the build-up. However, the goal was quickly upheld with the match ending in a 3-0 scoreline at full-time.
The match saw The Atlas Lions Captain Achraf Hakimi return to action after missing the first two matches, Hakimi replaced Naoussar Mazraoiui in the 64th minute for his first match at the tournament after missing the first two games with injury.
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The brace from El Kaabi and the strike from Diaz have propelled both players to the joint-top of the tournament’s goalscoring charts with three goals alongside Riyad Mahrez of Algeria.
Zambia’s exit marks a disappointing end to their campaign, having failed to secure a win in their three group matches.
For Morocco, the focus now shifts to the Round of 16, where they will face one of the best third-placed teams from Groups B, E, or F.
In the other final Group A fixture, which took place simultaneously in Casablanca, Mali and Comoros played out a tense 0-0 draw with Mali progressing as the runners up, Comoros will now wait for results from the other groups to find out if they can qualify as one of the four,third placed teams.
With Morocco and Mali confirmed as the top two, the hosts will stay in Rabat for their round of 16 match while Mali is set to travel for their encounter against the runners-up of Group C.
Zambia vs Morocco lineups
Morocco: Yassine Bounou, Mohamed Chibi, Nayef Aguerd, Adam Masina, Noussair Mazraoui, Neil El Aynaoui, Azzedine Ounahi, Brahim Diaz, Ismael Saibari, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, Ayoub El Kaabi.
Zambia: Willard Mwanza, Mathews Banda, Kabaso Chongo, Dominic Chanda, David Hamansenya, Benson Sakala, Joseph Liteta, Lubambo Musonda, Miguel Chaiwa, Kings Kangwa, Patson Daka.