Three Moroccan players have made it to the Best Eleven squad for the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The team of the competition, revealed by the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Technical Committee, included Ismael Saibari, Abde Ezzalzouli, and Zakaria El Ouahdi.
After defeating their Egyptian counterparts 2-1, the Moroccan team was named the tournament’s champion. The team also qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In the 10th minute of the match, Egyptian midfielder Mahmoud Saber Abdelmohsen Hassan opened the scoring.
In the 37th minute, Moroccan striker Yanis Begraoui scored an equalizer for Morocco, assisted by Bilal El Khannouss.
Egypt maintained a good tempo until the end of the match despite having played with only 10 players.
A free kick allowed Oussama Targhaline to score Morocco’s second goal in the 108th minute from an assist by Ezzalzouli.
Morocco were crowned champions of the tournament for the first time in their history.
Issame Charai, the Moroccan coach, credited King Mohammed VI for the victory during the post-game press conference, claiming that the monarch motivated his team to win the championship.
“We lifted this cup for King Mohammed VI,” Charai proclaimed.
The team’s discipline and continuous focus, the coach highlighted, were what ultimately led to their success, rather than a lucky break.
