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Johannesburg (AFP) – Wydad Casablanca of Morocco need a point at Zesco United of Zambia on Wednesday to win Group A and set up a CAF Champions League semi-final showdown with Zamalek of Egypt.
But if the 1992 African champions lose at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, they will drop to second spot and face Group B winners Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa instead.
The psychological advantage ahead of the final-round match lies with Wydad as they overcame Zesco more comfortably than the 2-0 scoreline suggests in Morocco two months ago. &nbsp;
Walid El Karty nodded Wydad into an early lead and a second half own-goal by Kenyan David Owino sealed the fate of under-the-cosh Zesco.
Coached by former Real Madrid manager and Liverpool striker John Toshack, Wydad top the table with 10 points despite a mid-group crisis.
After defeating ASEC Mimosas in the Ivory Coast and Zesco, the 2011 Champions League runners-up took only one point of a possible six off struggling giants Al Ahly of Egypt.
And they battled to translate dominance over ASEC at home into goals until Congo Brazzaville-born Fabrice Ondama scored in the final minute to deliver a crucial 2-1 win.
That result, and Zesco holding record eight-time African champions Ahly 2-2 away, eliminated the Egyptian and Ivorian clubs from the title contest.
Zesco have exceeded expectations by reaching the semi-finals although coach George Lwandamina remains worried about concentration lapses in defence.
“Our defence has a tendency to fall asleep after we score and this allows opponents back into matches,” said Lwandamina, who doubles as the caretaker national coach.
What the Zambian outfit do have in abundance, though, is consistent goal scorers with Idris Mbombo from the Democratic RepubIic of Congo scoring five in this Champions League campaign.
Clatous Chama and Kenyan Jesse Were have notched four each and John Ching’andu three, and Zesco struck six goals in two previous home group games.
Failing to reach the semi-finals cost Ahly coach and former Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol his job amid safety concerns.
Netherlands-born Jol was threatened on social media and furious supporters of the Cairo Red Devils reportedly reacted to the African exit by trying to disrupt a training session.
Assistant coach Ossama Orabi has taken charge for the meaningless midweek match against 1998 champions ASEC at Stade Robert Champroux in Abidjan.
Another fixture where only pride is at stake involves already-eliminated Enyimba of Nigeria and Sundowns in Port Harcourt. Zamalek have a bye as Entente Setif of Algeria were disqualified.

Wydad need point at Zesco to finish first

Wydad need point at Zesco to finish first - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_166501" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/morocco.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-166501" loading="lazy" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2016/03/morocco-600x395-600x395.webp" alt="Photo credit: AFP" width="600" height="395" class="size-large wp-image-166501" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>Photo credit: AFP</div>
New Morocco coach Herve Renard begins his quest for a record-equalling third Cup of Nations title with back-to-back qualifiers against Cape Verde, the top-ranked African team.
A seven-day, 50-match schedule starts Wednesday and the co-Group F leaders meet in Praia Saturday and in Marrakech Tuesday in key matches as only mini-league winners are guaranteed places at the 2017 tournament in Gabon.
Both countries beat Sao Tome e Principe convincingly and Libya narrowly in previous matchdays with Cape Verde topping the table on goal difference.
Renard, a 47-year-old who succeeded Badou Zaki last month after indifferent Moroccan performances, guided no-hopers Zambia to 2012 glory and repeated the feat with perennial underachievers Ivory Coast last year.
Hassan Shehata coached Egypt to three consecutive titles between 2006 and 2010, but only Renard has won the Cup of Nations with different countries.
His successes in Africa contrast with failures in France. He could not prevent Sochaux being relegated and a second Ligue 1 stint ended this season with Lille sacking him.
Given that Morocco are ranked only 19 in Africa, Renard has been set a tough target of at least reaching the 2017 Cup of Nations semi-finals by his new employers .
And while some pundits remain skeptical as to whether Cape Verde are the strongest African national soccer team, they are chasing a third consecutive Cup of Nations appearance.
Like Morocco, Cape Verde will have a new coach with local Felisberto ‘Beto’ Cardoso succeeding Portuguese Rui Aguas, who quit after not being paid for seven months.
Cape Verdean football officials said the salary was supposed to be paid by Portugal under a development and co-operation agreement between the countries.
Former assistant coach Cardoso will rely heavily on Djaniny and Heldon for goals while Moroccan sharpshooter Youssef El Arabi bagged a brace in Spain at the weekend.
Renard has successfully persuaded France-born Lille midfielder Sofiane Boufal to play for the country where his parents were born.
Other high-profile showdowns involve Nigeria and Egypt in Group G and Cameroon and South Africa in Group M.
Nigeria, who have home advantage first, are another team with a new coach as Samson Siasia took over when Sunday Oliseh quit following a social media rant against his critics.
Those called up for the Super Eagles include teen Alex Iwobi, whose first English Premier League start for Arsenal was crowned by the second goal in a <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2016/03/19/arsenals-win-at-everton-gives-wenger-title-hope-video/">2-0 weekend win at Everton</a>.
Argentina-born Egypt coach Hector Cuper has recalled 43-year-old Cup of Nations-winning goalkeeper Essam El Hadary after an injury ruled out first choice Sherif Ekramy.
The squad also includes in-form Roma striker Mohamed Salah and mid-season Arsenal recruit Mohamed Elneny.
Egypt, whose three titles in a row were followed by failures to qualify for the last three tournaments, beat Tanzania and Chad convincingly to lead Nigeria by two points.
South Africa coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba has come under media fire for picking out-of-favor players like Bournemouth striker Tokelo Rantie for must-win games against Cameroon.
Bafana Bafana (The Boys) were held by Gambia and lost to Mauritania, leaving them bottom of the table and five points adrift of the Indomitable Lions.
New Belgium-born Cameroon coach Hugo Broos has recalled Alex Song, whose last appearance ended prematurely with a 2014 World Cup red card against Croatia.
Another African in the running to play for the first time since the last World Cup is United States-based Ghana goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
The Group H leaders will lack injured midfielder Andre Ayew against bottom-of-the-table Mozambique, but younger brother Jordan is among the strikers chosen by coach Avram Grant.
Home and away fixtures against lowly-ranked Sudan offer defending champions Ivory Coast a realistic chance to win in Abidjan and Khartoum and build a four-point Group I lead.

Morocco coach begins quest for third African soccer title

Morocco coach begins quest for third African soccer title - World Soccer Talk

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