AGADIR, Morocco: The status of Morocco’s football game Saturday night as part of African Cup of Nations qualifying was uncertain after an earthquake struck the country, killing more than 800 people.
Morocco were scheduled to play Liberia at Adrar Stadium in Agadir.
The earthquake struck late Friday night. It has killed hundreds of people and damaged buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.
Rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest.
Star player Achraf Hakimi offered his condolences.
“We are living a difficult moment for our fellow citizens. It is time to help each other to save as many lives as possible. My condolences to all who lost a loved one,” Hakimi wrote on Instagram.
The Confederation of African Football did not immediately respond to an email about the status of the game.
Agadir is roughly 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of the epicenter of Friday’s tremor — near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province.
The magnitude 6.8 quake was the hardest to hit Morocco in 120 years.
On Friday morning, the team arrived in Agadir and then trained at Adrar Stadium in the afternoon after coach Walid Regragui and captain Romain Saïss held a pre-match press conference.
The Atlas Lions made a historic run at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals, where they lost to France.
Morocco have already qualified for the 24-team tournament, which begins in January in Ivory Coast.
The team were also scheduled to play a friendly match in France against Burkina Faso on Tuesday.
Football star Achraf Hakimi urges Moroccans to ‘help each other’ after earthquake
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Football star Achraf Hakimi urges Moroccans to ‘help each other’ after earthquake
- Star player Achraf Hakimi offered his condolences
- “It is time to help each other to save as many lives as possible,” Hakimi wrote on Instagram
Bethell spins England to 3-0 sweep over Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup warmup
- The series served as a dress rehearsal for the 20-nation showpiece that Sri Lanka is co-hosting with India
- The left-armer snared three wickets in a dramatic over to flip the game on its head as the hosts were skittled for 116 with three balls to spare
PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Jacob Bethell underlined his importance to England’s T20 World Cup hopes as he spun them to a hard-fought 12-run win over Sri Lanka to complete a 3-0 clean sweep at Pallekele on Tuesday.
The series served as a dress rehearsal for the 20-nation showpiece that Sri Lanka is co-hosting with India.
The contest hung in the balance heading into the 18th over with Sri Lanka needing 21 runs off 18 balls with four wickets in hand but the part-time spin of Bethel turned the game.
The left-armer snared three wickets in a dramatic over to flip the game on its head as the hosts were skittled for 116 with three balls to spare. Bethel finished with career-best figures of four for 11.
“It was one of the most fun games I have been part of,” said England captain Harry Brook.
“We showed we can adapt to challenging conditions. Today we bowled 16 overs of spin and to do that against a Sri Lankan side in their own conditions is really satisfying.”
England had mustered only 128 for nine but showcased their depth and nous, defending a total that looked well below par on a surface offering turn and bounce.
After just four overs from the quicks, the spinners took center stage and wove a web around the Sri Lankan batters, much as they had throughout the tour.
The spinners had been pivotal in England’s ODI series triumph in Colombo last week and again proved the ace up their sleeve.
England head to India to launch their World Cup campaign with momentum at their backs, while Sri Lanka have plenty of soul-searching to do with their frailties against spin brutally exposed.
Bethel found able allies in Will Jacks, who bagged three wickets, while fellow tweakers Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson chipped in with one apiece to keep the hosts on a tight leash.
Sam Curran, England’s hero in the opening game with a hat-trick, showed his all-round pedigree in the dead rubber, carving out a career-best 58 from 48 balls to rescue the side that had slipped to 60 for six.
Returning quick Dushmantha Chameera, back after a groin injury, was a rare bright spark for Sri Lanka, claiming his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is. His five for 24 are the best figures in England-Sri Lanka contests and the third-best ever at Pallekele.
“Very disappointing. We need to address a few areas, especially the options we take against spin bowling,” said Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka.
“I thought we had addressed that issue in the last game but the old problems resurfaced again.”
Both sides begin their World Cup campaign next Sunday with Sri Lanka hosting Ireland in Colombo while England face Nepal in Mumbai.
