The Africa Cup of Nations U23 officially kicked off this Saturday in Morocco, with the Atlas Lions taking on Guinea at home.
As a reminder, this competition qualifies the players for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (the top three finishers earn their place). So there was a lot at stake, especially for Morocco at home, who were fielding some familiar faces like Abde Ez, Benjamin Bouchouari, Bilal El Khannouss, Ibrahim Salah and Oussama Targhalline.
However, it was Guinea who opened the scoring at the end of the first half. Algassime Bah's free-kick was poorly saved by goalkeeper Alaa Bellaarouch (0-1, 45th). It was not until the second half that the Moroccans showed a better side, as Abde Ez did. The Barça striker won and converted the equalising penalty himself (1-1, 63rd). Despite some late chances, the score remained level - at least until the last second. Morocco were awarded another penalty in the dying seconds, which Abde Ez again converted (2-1, 90th+6).
23 июн 2023
