In a historic moment on Saturday night, Morocco achieved their first-ever TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with an exhilarating 2-1 victory against a ten-man Egypt.
The match, held at Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Stadium, required extra time to determine the winner.
Egypt initially took the lead when Mahmoud Saber unleashed a magnificent curling shot into the top corner, granting his team an advantage after just nine minutes of play. However, Saber’s fortunes quickly turned as he was shown a red card eight minutes later for a reckless challenge on Abdessamad Ezzalzouli.
Despite being a player down, Egypt valiantly defended their position for the remaining minutes of regular time. However, their defense faltered in the 37th minute, allowing Yanis Begraoui to score the equalizer for the host nation.
Both the first and second halves concluded without any further goals, leading the match into extra time. It was during the first half of extra time that Morocco took the lead, putting Egypt in a trailing position for the first time in the competition.
Substitute Oussamna Targhalline capitalized on a free kick from Ezzalzouli, delivering a powerful strike that eluded the Egyptian goalkeeper, resulting in a 2-1 score in favor of Morocco.
Despite Egypt’s efforts to secure a late equalizer, Morocco held firm to claim victory and secure their first TotalEnergies U-23 AFCON trophy.
Both Morocco and Egypt have earned their spots in next year’s Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Paris. Mali also secured their qualification after defeating Guinea in the third-place playoff game on Saturday.
Guinea still has a chance to secure a place as the fourth African side at the Olympic Games in Paris, but they will need to win a playoff against an Asian opponent yet to be determined.
