Rabat – Morocco’s U-20 is set to face Argentina in the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout win over France in the semi-final.
In the semifinal, Morocco and France ended 1–1 after extra time. Morocco’s third-choice keeper, Abdelhakim El Mesbahi, came on late and made the decisive save in the shootout, sending Morocco through 5–4.
The final is scheduled for Sunday at midnight Moroccan time (GMT+1), with Morocco set to face Argentina at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago, Chile
The Atlas Cubs made history as the first Moroccan national team to reach the FIFA World Cup final for the first time. They topped their group ahead of Spain and Brazil, then knocked out South Korea, the USA, and France to reach the final.
Morocco has now gone further than the 2005 squad, which finished fourth. This run is a major moment for Moroccan football and a breakthrough for Arab and African teams on the world stage.
Morocco now joins Ghana and Nigeria as the only three African teams to have ever reached a U-20 World Cup final.
Argentina won’t be an easy opponent for Morocco, as they head into the final with a perfect record: 6 wins, no draws, and no losses.
They’ve scored 15 goals in the tournament and conceded just 2, averaging 0.33 goals against per game.
In the knockout rounds, they beat Mexico 2–0 in the quarters and edged Colombia 1–0 in the semis, with Silvetti scoring in both games. Alejo Sarco leads the team with 4 goals, followed by Maher Carrizo with 3.
