Morocco 1-0 victory on Sunday in the opening Africa Cup of Nations Group D match.

NAMIBIAN Itamunua Keimuine headed an 89th-minute Hakim Ziyech free-kick into his own net to gift Morocco a 1-0 victory on Sunday in the opening Africa Cup of Nations Group D match.

It was cruel blow for the minnows from southern Africa, who lived up to their Brave Warriors nickname by taming the much-vaunted Atlas Lions.

Relief was etched on the face of Morocco coach Herve Renard as the final whistle blew after an unconvincing start by one of the competition favourites.

Renard is the only coach to win the Cup of Nations with two countries, guiding outsiders Zambia and previous underachievers the Ivory Coast to success between 2012 and 2015.

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“We battled because of the good organisation of Namibia, the heat, and the fact that we were playing our first match,” said Frenchman Renard.

“The most important thing was to take three points and I hope Namibia will pose problems for the Ivory Coast and South Africa.”

Namibia coach Ricardo Mannetti said: “I had to comfort my players, especially the player who scored the own goal.

“I am so proud of my boys for the way they executed our tactics. Sometimes the game plan may not be nice to watch, but I was up against very experienced coach, a very experienced team.”