May 03, (THEWILL) – Morocco’s Abdel Hamid Maali scored the only goal of the game as they defeated Nigeria 1-0, to book a spot in the quarter finals of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Maali found the back of the net just 75 seconds into the match with a deflected strike that wrong-footed the Nigerian keeper. Despite Nigeria’s best efforts, they could not find an equaliser and will have to win their final group match against South Africa to qualify for the knockout stage.
Morocco’s early goal gave them the impetus to sit back and defend, adding numbers at the edge of the box to stifle Nigeria’s attacking play. Although the Golden Eaglets had several chances to score, they failed to take advantage of their dominance. Abubakar Abdullahi and Emmanuel Michael both had opportunities to level the scores, but their efforts missed the target.
Morocco almost doubled their lead just before half-time but Adnane El Ahmer fired straight at the Nigerian keeper. In the second half, Nigeria continued to press forward, but, as in the first half, their final ball was lacking and their efforts were in vain as Morocco held on for a crucial win.
Despite the loss, the Golden Eaglets are still in with a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals if they can defeat South Africa in their final group match. Morocco, on the other hand, have secured their place in the knockout stage and will be looking to build on their impressive start to the tournament.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
