Rabat – There is only few hours left before the long-awaited match of Morocco’s national football team against Egypt in the quarterfinal of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2017).
The game is set to take place on Sunday in Gabon’s economic capital, Port Gentil.
During the first round of the tournament, Morocco managed to secure the second position in Group C behind theDemocratic Republic of Congo, which led the Group. Egypt, led its Group by winning all its matches.
Brief History of Morocco’s Matches against Egypt
Several questions have been raised following the match of Morocco versus Egypt. Moroccans and Egyptians alike wonder if Morocco will continue its winning streak or if Egypt will end its comeback, publicly known as “Morocco’s complex.”
Throughout Morocco’s football history against Egypt, most of victories were in favour of Morocco, with 13 wins 2 losses, and 11 tie matches.
“Morocco’s Complex”
Egypt has been suffering from Morocco’s complex since the semifinals of CAN1986 in Egypt, when forward player Taher Abou Zeid scored Egypt’s winning goal against Morocco.
Morocco’s last victory over Egypt was in the World Cup qualifiers in 2001, when Legend Mustapha Hadji scored Morocco’s only goal. The last time the two teams met on the pitch in a CAN tournament was during CAN2006 in Egypt. The match ended in a goalless draw.
Mustapha Hadji Left Marks on Egypt’s Football History
Legend Mustapha Hadji was the Moroccan Cristiano Ronaldo of the 1990s. During CAN1998 in Burkina Faso, Hadji stunned the football world with a spectacular overhead kick goal that advanced the Atlas Lions to the quarterfinals.
The Match through Egypt’s Officials Perspective
As soon as it was announced that Morocco will face Egypt, Egyptian officials’ team started anticipating that the game would be challenging for Egypt.
Speaking on behalf Egypt’s technical staff for Egyptian sports website FilGoal.com, assistant coach, Mahmoud Fayez, said that Argentinean coach, Hector Cuper, views the game as “the hardest” [game for the Egypt in the tournament.
Fayez noted that the coach considers it the hardest for two reasons. First, losing to Morocco means leaving the tournament directly, while the second is that the Moroccan national team is the strongest in the AFCON with tactics as well as individual performance of the players.”
The Determination of Morocco’s Coach Hervé Renard to Beat Egypt
During a press conference ahead the match, coach of Morocco’s team, Hervé Renard, expressed his dream of topping the tournament.
He said, “We have to leave our mark on the history of football,” describing the team’s collective motivation to go further in the CAN2017 after the pride they felt in qualifying for the quarterfinals,” and made a great comeback for Morocco, which has suffered a series of setbacks. The last time Morocco qualified for the final was during CAN2014 where they were ultimately beaten by Tunisia.
