After their brilliant performance in the opening match of the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF U-17 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, winning 5-0 against Uganda, Morocco hoped for a second consecutive victory against Zambia to secure their spot in the quarterfinals of the competition.
Nabil Baha’s men faced strong resistance from the young Chipolopolo, who gave them very little space.
In the first half, both teams observed each other for a long time, offering very few chances of threat. The match became slightly more lively after the break, although both sides were still not very indecisive in the final third.
While Morocco continued to push for control of the game, their momentum was halted by the expulsion of their defender Hamza Mouhadi, who made an illegal challenge on Zambian forward Kelvin Mulenga Chipelu in the 75th minute. Vincent Kabore, the Burkinabe referee, used the VAR to make this decision, which could have been the turning point of the match.
Zambia nearly took advantage of their numerical superiority in added time, but substitute Gabriel Phiri’s late effort could not find the back of the net (90+5).
Despite being a player down, Morocco laboured until the end but failed to take two good opportunities in the final moments.
Ahmed Mouhoub’s shot, completely unmarked in the Zambian defense, flew well over the bar (90+7), while Ilies Belmokhtar also squandered one last chance in the final seconds, misfiring a shot in the box.
With this goalless draw, Morocco and Zambia share the top of Group A with 4 points each. Earlier, Uganda triumphed 3-0 over Tanzania and occupies third place with 3 points, while Tanzania, after two consecutive defeat remain bottom of the group.
Morocco will seek qualification against Tanzania on Sunday on Match Day 3, while Zambia will face Uganda in a crucial final day tie.
Cafonline
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