2023 U-17 AFCON: Morocco target TotalEnergies U17 AFCON title
Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - Morocco will be looking for the ultimate prize as they travel to Algeria for this year’s TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations which will be hosted in Algeria from 29 April to 19 May.
The Atlas Cubs’ ultimate aim is to qualify for the U-17 FIFA World Cup for the second time in their history, and this means their minimum target of heading to Algeria reaching the semi-finals.
They qualified from the UNAF zone after topping the mini-tournament that included Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. They harvested a maximum nine points from three matches.
The Moroccans are playing at the U-17 AFCON for the third time in their history and have been drawn in a tough Group B with South Africa, Zambia and Nigeria.
Match schedule (All games at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium, Constantine):
April 30 - Morocco vs South Africa, 8pm.
May 3 - Nigeria vs Morocco, 5pm.
May 6 - Zambia - Morocco, 8pm.
Head Coach: Said Chiba
The team is under the tutelage of former Moroccan international Said Chiba whose playing career started off at home in Morocco and took him to Qatar and France.
The 52-year-old started his coaching career in Qatar in 2010, working as an assistant coach at Qatar SC before joining the Moroccan national team in 2014 as an assistant coach as well.
He worked at several Moroccan clubs before taking over the role at the U-17 national team.
He led them to the final of the 2022 U-17 Arab Cup, where they lost to Algeria.
Players to watch:
Left back Yasser Al-Aissati, who plays in the Netherlands with Ajax Amsterdam, is one of the players to watch. Another Dutch-based player, midfielder Imran Nazih, is also one to keep a keen eye on at the tournament.
Goalkeeper Taha bin Ghazil who plays at the Mohammed VI Football Academy is also an integral part of the team, having conceded only one goal in three qualification matches.
Previous participation
Morocco are playing the tournament for the third time. Their last qualification was in 2019 in Tanzania where they failed to make it past the group stage.
They played in 2013 as the host nation and finished fourth, losing to Tunisia in the play-off on penalties.
-0- PANA VAO/RA 18April2023
