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Romain Saiss celebrates with his teammates after scoring the first goal for the Atlas Lions
48 minutes ago
The Moroccan national team, which is considered one of the most prominent candidates to win the tournament, began its campaign in the 2023 African Cup of Nations with a convincing victory over Tanzania, which played with ten players, in Group Six.
The Atlas Lions took the lead in the 30th minute of the match when Romain Saiss pounced on the goal and scored the first goal for Morocco after the Tanzanian goalkeeper blocked a free kick taken by Hakim Ziyech.
Tanzanian player Novatos Mirushi was sent off 20 minutes before the end of the match, and the Moroccan team took advantage of the numerical disadvantage and doubled the score through Azzedine Onai.
Youssef Al-Nusairi concluded the goals by scoring the third goal from a cross ball from his colleague Ashraf Hakimi.
Morocco achieved its only continental title in the African Cup of Nations in 1976, but it is considered one of the most prominent candidates to win the title of the tournament currently being held in Ivory Coast after its historic arrival to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
Morocco won the World Cup against major teams such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal, thanks to its reliance on quick counterattacks, but it must now play against teams that rely on defensive clustering.
The Atlas Lions completely dominated the match against Aman Tanzania in the opening match of Group F at the Laurent Poco Stadium in the city of San Pedro in Ivory Coast, and the Moroccan national team goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, was not subjected to significant attacks.
Ziyech’s free kick gave team captain Saiss the opportunity to break the deadlock and score the first goals of the match, and Ziyech, the former Chelsea winger, hit a powerful ball before the end of the first half.
Tanzania suffered in three matches played in the previous African Cup of Nations finals, and is still waiting to achieve its first victory, but its task against Morocco became more difficult after Mirushi was expelled.
Miroshi received the first yellow card after his strong intervention on Onahi outside the penalty area in the first half, then he received the second card after another intervention on Onahi as well.
Ounahi, who performed at an excellent level and was very active throughout the match, scored his name on the list of scorers of the match with a precise shot into the lower left corner after smooth passes, which helped Morocco avoid a possible surprise in a tournament that witnessed many surprises in the first round of matches.
Within the same group, Congo tied with Zambia 1-1, with each team getting a point and Morocco leading the group with three points. The group’s second round matches will be held next Sunday.
2024-01-18 11:17:08
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