After a first-half of few incidents, the highlight of which was Noussair Mazraoui smashing in a well-hit drive from outside the box, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside, the game showed signs of life early in the second half when Azzedine Ounahi volleyed just over the bar from 12 yards out for Morocco. But against the run of play, Evidence Makgopa beat the offside trap to slot under goalkeeper Bono in the 57th minute give South Africa a shock lead.
Pre-tournament favourites Morocco, who sit 12th in the FIFA world rankings, looked to have been handed a lifeline when Ayoub El Kaabi's close range shot hit Mothobi Mvala's arm, but Hakimi's penalty hit the bar and went over five minutes from time. To make matters worse, Amrabat received a straight red for a foul on Mokoena in the 91st minute. Then, the counter-attacking South Africa, who are 56 places below their rivals, made it 2-0 in second-half stoppage time thanks to Teboho Mokoena's stunning 25-yard free-kick as they secured a famous victory.