Africa Cup of Nations holders Ivory Coast have been eliminated from the tournament after a 1-0 defeat by Morocco.
Substitute Rachid Alioui’s 64th minute wonder-strike proved to be the only goal of a cagey encounter and sealed his side’s place in the knockout stages.
The Elephants had drawn their first two Group C matches, leaving them needing to beat Morocco and former coach Herve Renard, who had guided the squad to glory in 2015 when winning a penalty shootout over Ghana in Equatorial Guinea.
However, after wasting chances to get ahead before half-time – with Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and former Chelsea frontman Salomon Kalou both failing to find the net – it was the Atlas Lions who swept into the lead on 64 minutes through Rachid Alioui.
Ivory Coast failed to conjure a way back into the match, as Morocco held out to qualify in second place behind DR Congo, who beat Togo 3-1 in Port-Gentil.
Hertha Berlin forward Kalou was the only player who looked like getting the holders back into it, and despite throwing on Bournemouth’s Max Gradel late on they were unable to breach a Morocco defence marshaled by Juventus defender Medhi Benatia.
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