Cape Verde will need to muster
an improved performance in front
of goal against Morocco on
Wednesday night if their debut
Africa Cup of Nations tournament
is to progress any further. Neither side have cited any injury
concerns on the eve of the
match, with both expected to
turn out in full force at the
Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. The Islanders came close to
upsetting hosts South Africa in
the opening game of the
tournament, with some gilt-edged
chances missed by their forwards
leading to the match ending in a dreary 0-0 draw. The team was able to hold off a
nervous and incoherent South
African side, but should have
taken the three points off the
hosts, who kept giving Cape
Verde possession and chances to build towards goal. Lucio Antunes believes his side can
score against Morocco and has
put the opening game at the
back of his mind when he told
reporters on the eve of the
match, "Playing against South Africa has passed, it is now
preparing for the game with
Morocco to try to score." Eventually the Islanders seemed
content with a draw against
Bafana Bafana but will be
targeting an improved
performance against a dangerous
Moroccan outfit, who were left frustrated with their
performance against Angola in
another 0-0 draw on the opening
day of the tournament. Morocco coach Rachid Taoussi
spoke on the eve of the match
and concluded that his side
spurned numerous opportunities
against Angola and will have to
focus on finding the target against a steely Cape Verde
outfit. "As you know, we are not
efficient enough, we don't make
the most of our opportunities and
in this coming match we know we
will have opportunities to score.
But in order to do that, we need to focus, we need to work to
reach our goal, which is to score,"
Taoussi told reporters. Midfielder Nordin Amrabat echoed
his coach's words and believes
that Morocco will win their second
match of the tournament when
he said, "We prepare in a normal
way, like the first game. We train well, the moral is good and the
atmosphere is good. And we train
a lot on the tactics, and for us
we are ready. The exercise is
easy; we must win and take the
three points." Both sides have focused their
preparations on finishing chances,
with Taoussi working on
Morocco's set plays and his
team's efficiency in front of goal. Abdelaziz Barrada, who was
largely quiet but proficient
throughout the opening game
against Angola, will want to
improve on his performance by
controlling the game against Cape Verde, while the Islander's
talented attacker Ryan Mendes
will be confident in his ability to
find a vital breakthrough for the
elusive debutant outfit.