Mariya Sahnouni
Saturday May 6, 2023
Rabat - Morocco's national U-17 football team is set to lock horns with hosts Algeria in the quarterfinals of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Wednesday, May 10.
Morocco booked a place in the highly-anticipated quarter final clash after securing back-to-back wins over South Africa (2-0) and Nigeria (1-0).
Meanwhile, Algeria's national U-17 football team qualified for the quarterfinals yesterday after a 1-1 tie with Congo.
Morocco's national U17 football team is leading the pack in Group B of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with 6 points.
They are followed closely by Nigeria and South Africa, both with 3 points, while Zambia did not register a win in the tournament.
Over in Group A, Senegal is currently dominating with a commanding 9 points, followed by Algeria with 4 points, Congo with 2 points, and Somalia with 1 point.
Morocco's U17 team is scheduled to play Zambia this evening at 20:00 local time at the 19 Mai 1956 Stadium in Annaba, Algeria.
The upcoming game comes ahead of their match against Algeria and presents an opportunity for the team to continue building momentum in the AFCON.
Morocco's head coach, Said Chiba, has emphasized that his team will continue to give their best effort in their final match against Zambia, despite already securing a spot in the competition’s quarter finals and securing the top position in Group B.
“We will play with the same desire. We respect Zambia which is a good side and they have showed good performance despite their two defeats. Yes we will rotate the team but we will still retain a strong core,” CAF quoted the head coach as saying.
Forward Zakaria Allaoui emphasized that the team will approach the match with the intention to win, just as they did in their previous two matches. While he acknowledged that the match against Zambia will be challenging, he expressed confidence that the team will put up a good fight to secure a victory.
Head coach Said Chiba highlighted that the team has two primary targets in mind -- qualifying for the World Cup and competing for their first-ever U17 title.
“Our first objective is to qualify for the World Cup and after that, we can battle for the title to make the Moroccan people proud,” said Chiba.