Football: Morocco defeats Namibia, remains in world cup race
A second half was enough for Morocco to score three goals against Namibia and maintain their chances to qualify for the World Cup for the fifth time.
Apparently under huge psychological strain, the Moroccans started their match with a rush to the Namibians' camp in a bid to score the maximum goals.
The Atlas Lions tried as hard as possible to score in the first minutes of the game to catch up with their Senegalese rivals, who beat Algeria 3-0 in Dakar and widened the goal gap between them and Morocco.
Aware of the Moroccan intentions, the Namibians adopted a defensive line-up with 6 players in the back line. The off-side tactic of the Namibians aborted all infiltration by Moroccan strikers.
Morocco's striker, Mustapha Hajji, had a chance to deliver his team, when he got a penalty at the 25th minute of the first half. But Coventry's striker missed the chance, provoking the anger of the public, who turned against their team and started applauding the Namibians.
In the second half, Morocco's Portuguese coach, Humberto Cuelho changed his tactic, recommending Hajji to move from midfield to the right wing to send curling balls to break Namibia's off-side play.
While a burial silence was reigning on the Rabat stadium, substitute Rachid Rokki, rocked the Namibians net with a fine header on a cross from defender Gharib Amzine.
This was Morocco's delivery. Hajji managed to turn the public's anger against him into cheers, when he beautifully served Camacho, who scored the second goal.
The same Camacho sealed Morocco's victory at the last minute of the game, during which Moroccans experienced frustration and delivery against their little-fancied Namibian contenders.
With 9 points, Morocco co-leads Group C with Senegal, which has a plus 7 goal-average, against plus 4 for the Atlas Lions. Egypt, which was exempt this weekend, is third with 6 points.
Next May 5, Morocco will travel to Algeria, to play the Algerians, who saw their hopes fade away with their Saturday's loss to Senegal 0-3.
Morocco desperately needs a victory in Algeria, while keeping an eye on Senegal's perilous match against Egypt in Cairo.