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Wydad, the three-time champions, defeated ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast 1-0 in Marrakesh while Simba was having a field day. However, Wydad lost in the head-to-head tie-breaker to finish second.
Group B was won by ASEC with 11 points, followed by Wydad and Simba with 9 apiece and Jwaneng with 4. The top two placers proceeded to the elimination round.
On the last matchday, there were two spots in the last eight up for grabs. Esperance of Tunisia, who finished as the runners-up in Group C after defeating Al Hilal of Sudan 1-0, took the other spot.Qualifying teams already included ASEC, Petro Luanda of Angola, Young Africans of Tanzania, TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, and Al Ahly of Egypt.
Simba knew that a win over Jwaneng in Dar es Salaam would see them through regardless of the Wydad outcome as they looked to secure their fourth quarterfinal spot in six seasons.
What the Tanzanian team most likely did not anticipate was that goals from Saidi Ntibazonkiza, Pa Jobe, and Kibu Denis would almost certainly allow them to nearly achieve their goal barely 22 minutes into the game.Clatous Chama then struck the woodwork three times for the rampant hosts before he found the net on 76 minutes and late goals from Ladaki Chasambi and Fabrice Ngoma completed the rout.
Multi-national side
Ntibazonkiza’s nationalities—Burundian, Jobe Gambian, Chama Zambian, and Ngoma Congolese—highlight the Simba starting lineup’s diversity, which featured just three Tanzanians.
For a spot in the semi-finals, Simba will play a group winner other than ASEC, which may be Ahly, Petro, or Sundowns, over two legs in March and April.
Wydad lost after making eight straight trips to the knockout stage, two of which resulted in championship wins.
In the Moroccan team’s match against ASEC in Marrakech, Montasser Lahtimi scored after 18 minutes, and the winners ultimately finished with 10 men following Badr Gaddarine’s late red card.Midway through the first half, a goal by Yassine Meriah gave four-time winners Esperance maximum points against Hilal in Rades, and they finished in second position, one point behind Petro.
Unexpected group winners Petro defeated Etoile Sahel of Tunisia 2-0 in Luanda by scoring goals in each half through Honduran Jonathan Toro and substitute Julinho.
Sundowns defeated Mazembe 1-0 in Pretoria to win Group A. Peter Shalulile, the Namibian captain, scored a penalty kick in the 38th minute after Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro was fouled.
In a 2-2 tie with Pyramids of Egypt in Cairo, Nouadhibou, the first Mauritanian qualifiers for the group stage, gave up the lead twice but yet managed to finish a creditable third.
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