South Africa/Morocco: Berkane Defeat Stellenbosch in Five-Star Qualifying Finale - ASEC, USM Alger in Quarters

19 January 2025
Confederation of African Football (Giza)

Renaissance Berkane delivered an emphatic statement of intent in their final TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup group match, crushing South Africa's Stellenbosch 5-0 despite both teams securing quarter-final qualification from Group B.

The Moroccan side's ruthless display at the Municipal Stadium on Sunday night featured doubles from Pape Bassène and early strikes from Omar Lamlioui and Youssef Mehri, cementing their position as group winners with 14 points.

Lamlioui set the tone after just seven minutes, before Mehri doubled the advantage eight minutes later to give the hosts a commanding lead at the break.

The second half turned into a masterclass as Bassène struck twice, in the 66th and 84th minutes, while Youssef Zoughdi added his name to the scoresheet with ten minutes remaining to complete the rout.

Despite the heavy defeat, Stellenbosch's earlier group stage performances ensured their progression as runners-up with nine points, helped by Deportivo Luanda-Sul's narrow 1-0 victory over Stade Malien in the group's other fixture in Bamako.

The results confirmed a remarkable achievement for Stellenbosch in their debut continental campaign, though the manner of their final defeat suggests significant improvement will be needed in the knockout stages.

Elsewhere, ASEC Mimosas secured their quarter-final spot with a convincing 4-0 win over Orapa United, featuring a Celestine Ecua double, while USM Alger topped Group C after defeating ASC Jaraaf 2-0 through late goals from Ismail Belkacemi and Saadi Redouani.

Berkane's devastating performance, however, sent a clear message to their quarter-final rivals.

The 2020 and 2022 champions showed why they remain among the favorites for this year's title, demonstrating the kind of clinical finishing that has made them one of the tournament's most feared sides.

The quarter-final draw will determine whether Berkane can maintain this momentum when the knockout stages begin on March 30, while Stellenbosch will hope to quickly recover from this setback as they continue their historic continental journey.

Read the original article on CAF.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Confederation of African Football. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.