JOHANNESBURG:

Morocco trounced 10-man Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday to win Group E and become the first African .

Ismael Saibari scored twice in the first half after Abdul-Latif Goumey was sent off and second-half goals from Ayoub el Kaabi, Hamza Igamane and Azzedine Ounahi completed the rout.

A sixth straight victory lifted Morocco to an unassailable lead with 18 points -- eight more than Tanzania -- and sealed a seventh appearance at the global showpiece with two matches to spare.

Morocco were shock semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, topping a group including Croatia and Belgium and eliminating Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase.

The stunning run came to an end in the semi-finals as they lost 2-0 to France.

Only Ounahi of the scorers against Niger was in the 2022 W

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