U17 AFCON: Morocco overcomes Ivory Coast to reach the final!

In a tightly contested and tense match till the end, Morocco brilliantly qualified for the grand final of their U17 AFCON by overcoming Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout (0-0, 4 pens 3) on Tuesday at the El Bachir Stadium in Mohammedia.

Masters of the ball and the field, the Atlas Cubs struggled to destabilize a well-organized Ivorian block.

The only real alert in the first half was a breakthrough by Ilies Belmokhtar in the 11th minute, ending in a shot that was too weak.

Everything was decided in the penalty shootout!

The Elephanteaux relied on their physical impact and vertical play. Just before the break, Alynho Haïdara, the top Ivorian scorer, found himself one-on-one with Bellaarouch, but the Moroccan goalkeeper made a decisive save (44th minute), before shining again at the hour mark.

Morocco thought they had opened the score in the 69th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Then, at the very end of the match, Kouassi had to work hard to prevent disaster from a free-kick.

Everything was decided in the penalty shootout. More composed, the Moroccans secured their ticket to the final (4-3 pens) where they will face Mali. Ivory Coast, on the other hand, will play against Burkina Faso for the third place.

Amine Jomni |

Editorfr

African football writer and sports journalist covering football news, stories and insights while sharing his expertise with fans across the continent.