Morocco made it three wins from three in Group A of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Friday night, thumping Niger 5-1 at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca — and, as so often, the man running the whole show was their right-back. Achraf Hakimi scored twice, made another and tormented Niger all evening, while Yassine Bounou saved a penalty at the one moment the game threatened to turn.
The Atlas Lions were ahead inside four minutes. Brahim Díaz slipped in Yassir Zabiri, who finished calmly for his first senior international goal. Hakimi doubled the lead on 27 minutes with a brilliant long-range strike, set up by teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi — the Manchester City midfielder, winning his 11th cap, was tidy and combative throughout, with a 96 per cent pass rate and eight duels won, as Manchester City's official report noted.
Hakimi runs the show from right-back
Niger briefly threatened a contest. Mohamed Abdouramane headed in on 41 minutes — the first goal Morocco have conceded in this campaign, after 2-0 wins over Gabon and Lesotho in September — and when Noussair Mazraoui handled in the box, the visitors had a penalty to level the game on the stroke of half-time.
Bounou read Youssouf Oumarou's spot-kick, diving to his left to keep it out, and within three minutes Hakimi had restored the two-goal cushion with a dipping free-kick in first-half stoppage time. It was a four-minute swing that ended the match as a contest: instead of 2-2, Niger went in 3-1 down and chasing shadows.
Morocco owned the second half — 72 per cent possession and 17 shots to Niger's eight across the night told the story. Recalled striker Youssef En-Nesyri, on as a substitute, steered in the fourth on 77 minutes from a Hakimi pass, and substitute Ayoub Oufkir completed the rout from close range in the 90th minute, scoring on his first senior call-up.
What this does to Group A
Morocco sit top of Group A with a perfect nine points. Gabon are second on six after their 2-0 win over Lesotho earlier on Friday, Niger stay third on three, and Lesotho are bottom with none. As Reuters put it, Hakimi's double maintained the perfect start and moved Mohamed Ouahbi's side closer to qualification for the finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next summer.
The same two teams meet again on Tuesday in Rabat, with Niger as the designated home side because they have no approved stadium of their own. On this evidence, the return is a chance for Ouahbi to rotate — and for the likes of Zabiri and Oufkir to argue they deserve more than cameos.
It was a big night across the continent for Africa's superstars: read how Mohamed Salah broke Egypt's all-time scoring record in their 5-0 rout of Malawi, and how Nigeria revived their own qualifying bid with a 3-1 win over Tanzania.
Beyond the Final Whistle: A right-back should not be able to decide an international this completely — two goals, an assist, a free-kick of genuine class — yet Hakimi does it so routinely that it barely registers as remarkable anymore. He is the African Footballer of the Year and, on nights like this, quite simply the best player on the continent. Morocco are not just heading for AFCON 2027; with Hakimi in this form, they will arrive among the favourites to win it.
Is there a better right-back in world football than Hakimi right now? Tell us in the comments.
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