On the face of it, Morocco and Niger have nothing but pride to play for in their final 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group C qualifier in Libreville on Tuesday.

from our toppartner allAfrica.com

But Morocco coach Eric Gerets is fighting to hold onto his job and another defeat would make that battle all the harder to win.

The North Africans came into this competition rated as one of the favourites, but like Senegal have bombed spectacularly to date.

Discipline lapse
They are definitely going home, no matter what the result against Niger, but ending on a positive note could make all the difference to the fate of Gerets.

Already Gerets has said he is unsure whether he will be allowed to stay in the post, but hopes to take the team to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

He has blamed his team's elimination on a lapse in tactical discipline, even though they looked the stronger side in both matches.

King on Monday, gone by Tuesday
"If they [the Moroccan Football Federation] let me do my job I will continue, if they are not happy with my performance they will let me know," Gerets told reporters. "For 15 months no one has talked about bad performances or a bad coach so it would be a bit surprising [to be sacked], but in my job it can happen -- on Monday you are king, 24 hours later you are not a king.

"As long as I am coach of Morocco I will take my responsibility and continue with my philosophy of making my players improve. I know the team are capable of better."

Morocco will surely have the upper hand against Niger, who rely on the power of Moussa Maazou upfront.

Maazou power
Maazou, who has signed for the French second division club Le Manx while he has been at the Nations Cup, missed several chances for an admittedly unlikely win over Tunisia on Friday. He will nevertheless be closely watched by an unforgiving Morocco defence (although Mehdi Benatia is suspended). Maazou's ability to shrug off defenders makes him a handful but his finishing is weak.

Niger have had Rolland Courbis of France working as an adviser to coach Harouna Doula. However, the relationship seemed to sour after the first game and Courbis was in charge for a much better performance against Tunisia. Reports now say he will hand back the team to Doula, who qualified Niger for the finals in the first place.