DOHA: Morocco are the first team to book their place in the Arab Cup semi-finals, after a late goal in Al-Rayyan, Qatar, on Thursday gave them a 1-0 victory over Syria. Palestine were due to face Saudi Arabia later in the day for a chance to join them in the last four.
Syria matched their opponents for long spells but their impressive run at the tournament came to a heartbreaking end when they conceded in the closing minutes.
Morocco had the better of the limited first-half chances, with Amin Zahzouh forcing goalkeeper Elias Hadaya into a smart early save, but the Atlas Lions suffered a setback when Tarik Tissoudali was forced to exit the game with an injury.
Hadaya continued to frustrate Morocco after the break with a series of crucial interventions, including a sharp stop followed by a goal-line block from Zakaria Hannan.
The breakthrough came in the 79th minute when two Moroccan substitutes combined, Walid Azaro firing home from close range after Hadaya could only parry a long-range strike by Mounir Chouiar into his path.
Morocco had increased the pressure throughout second half and contined to do so as the clock ticked down, with chances falling to Oussama Tannane, Karim El-Berkaoui and Marwane Saadane before the final whistle confirmed the narrow victory.
