The Moroccans, who delivered a dull image during their two previous outings, started the match with a bang in order to validate their ticket for the next round.
From the 7th minute, after a free kick taken by Omar Namsaoui, the Atlas Lions were on the verge of opening the scoring, but goalkeeper Charles Lukwago managed to put the ball in for a corner.
In the 13th minute, following a deep pass from Soufiane Rahimi, Ayoub El Kaabi missed his face-to-face with the goalkeeper, who intervened at the right time.
And against the flow of play, Ibrahim Orit took advantage of a mix-up in the Moroccan defense to open the scoring in favor of Uganda (26th) and score the first goal against the nationals in this edition.
The goal gave real hope to the Ugandans who saw qualification within their reach and were starting to worry the Moroccan defense more and more.
They thus opted for high pressure in order to nip the Moroccan offensives in the bud, but in the last breaths of the match the referee whistled a penalty in favor of the Atlas Lions after a hand fault by Mustiafa Mujuzi in the penalty area.
Ayoub El Kaabi, top scorer of the previous edition, equalized for Lhoucine Ammouta’s men (45+4th), who returned to the locker room with a psychological advantage.
The equalizing goal sent the national team into orbit, freeing themselves from the pressure and showing more determination to take matters into their own hands.
Following a shift on the right, Adam Ennafati managed a cross towards Sofiane Rahimi who doubled the lead for the national team (51st).
In the 64th minute, Ayoub El Kaabi almost scored his second goal, after a second face-to-face with the goalkeeper, but failed to chase away the Indian sign.
The entry of Abdelilah El Hafidi in the 60th minute diametrically changed the match, especially as the Moroccan midfielder became more dynamic and lively.
The same Ayoub El Kaabi finds himself alone a third time in front of the Ugandan goalkeeper but the goalkeeper was well in place. The ball is poorly negotiated by the defense and Hamza Moussaoui takes advantage of it to score the 3rd goal (71st).
Ten minutes from the end of regulation time, a cross from Hamza Moussaoui for Ayoub El Kaabi leaps in front of Sofiane Rahimi who scores the 4th Moroccan goal.
With a superbly executed free kick, Saidi Kyeyune gave a glimmer of hope to his teammates by scoring the Ugandans’ 2nd goal 6 minutes from the end of regulation time. However, in added time (90+2nd), El Hafidi scores the nationals’ fifth goal after achieving an individual feat and dribbling past the Ugandan defense.
Morocco thus finished at the top of its group with 7 points, obtained in two victories and a draw. It is followed by Rwanda (5 pts), which validated its ticket for the next round at the expense of Togo (3-2).
In the quarter-finals, the national team will find the team ranked second in group D, which includes Guinea (1st/4 pts), Zambia (2nd/4 pts), Tanzania (3rd/3 pts) and Namibia ( 4th/0 pt).
2024-09-29 13:59:27