Rabat – Morocco’s national youth football team qualified on Monday for the final of the U-17 Arab Cup after defeating its Yemeni counterpart in a convincing 2-0 victory.
Morocco’s young Atlas Lions and Algeria’s Fennec Foxes will face each other in the regional tournamrnt’s final match on Thursday, September 8 at 8 p.m. (GMT+1) at the Sig Stadium in the northern Algeria province of Mascara.
Morocco’s game against Yemen, which was also played in Sig, was marked by Mouad Bakizane’s first goal in the 78th minute followed by Said Rafai’s second goal in the extra time – in the 95th minute.
On the same day, the host country qualified for the final game after an intense semi-final against Saudi Arabia which concluded with a 5-4 scoreline in the penalty kicks.
The Morocco-Algeria face-off will wrap up the Arab tournament that started on August 23.
Sixteen Arab national teams have participated in the youth tournament. The teams were divided into four groups in the first phase with Algeria taking part in Group A alongside Palestine, Sudan, and the UAE.
Meanwhile, Morocco led Group C where it played against Iraq, Comoros, and Mauritania. The Yemeni team, which lost to the Atlas Lions in yesterday’s semi-finals game, was placed in Group B as well as Libya, Tunisia, and Oman.
Saudi Arabia, which also ended its journey in the semi-finals stage, was initially placed in Group D with Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.
The U-17 Arab Cup is the third Arab cup the Arab Football Association organized this year, the other two being the Arab Futsal Cup and the U-20 Arab Cup.
While Morocco lost in the U-20 Arab Cup’s quarter-finals to Egypt, the country’s national futsal team was crowned the champion of the latest regional tournament, reinforcing its leadership over the Arab futsal scene.
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