The Moroccan national team won against their Tanzanian counterpart 3-0 on Wednesday as they launched their campaign in the Africa Cup of Nations held in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11. The Moroccan team credits this victory to their captain Romain Saïss, who scored the first goal in the 30th minute, followed by Azzedine Ounahi who scored the second goal in the 77th minute, and Youssef En-Nesyri who added the third goal in the 80th minute.
A Surprise in Morocco's Lineup
The Moroccan lineup saw a surprise with the absence of left-back Yahya Attiat-Allah due to a last-minute injury, leading to the substitution by defender Mohamed Chibi, who usually plays as a right-back.
**The lineup:**
Yassine Bounou - Achraf Hakimi - Mohamed Chibi - Romain Saïss - Nayef Aguerd - Sofyan Amrabat - Selim Amallah - Azzedine Ounahi - Abdessamad Ezzalzouli - Hakim Ziyech - Youssef En-Nesyri.
Complete Moroccan Domination in the First Half
The Moroccan team approached the match in an offensive manner, taking advantage of Tanzania's retreat, which allowed Yassine Bounou's teammates several opportunities to reach the goal of Tanzanian goalkeeper Aishi Manula.
Tanzania threatened with three chances that did not pose a danger to Bounou's goal. Youssef En-Nesyri was close to scoring in the 15th minute but lost focus after a decisive pass from Hakim Ziyech, who was the standout player in the first half.
In the 30th minute, "The Atlas Lions" won a direct free kick, which Ziyech struck powerfully; it rebounded off the Tanzanian goalkeeper and fell to captain Romain Saïss, who scored the first goal for the Moroccan team. Just a minute later, the Moroccan team threatened Tanzania's goal again, with Azzedine Ounahi's breakthrough leading to a foul, granting his teammates a free kick that Ziyech placed on En-Nesyri's head, but his effort went just over the bar. Ziyech then threatened again with a run into the penalty area but lost his balance at the moment of shooting, ending the first half with Morocco leading 1-0.
Continued Control and Supremacy
The situation did not change in the second half as Morocco maintained control, focusing the play in the Tanzanian half. The Tanzanian players played with noticeable recklessness in their tackles, earning several yellow cards and a red card in the 70th minute for player Novatus Miroshi.
These tackles also caused an injury to Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, who could not continue playing and was replaced by his teammate Amin Adli, while Bilal El Khannouss came on for midfielder Selim Amallah. In the 77th minute, "The Atlas Lions" executed a beautiful tactical play initiated by Achraf Hakimi, who passed to Azzedine Ounahi, who in turn exchanged the ball brilliantly with Amin Adli, culminating with Ounahi scoring against Tanzania.
Morocco did not give the Tanzanians a chance to catch their breath, as Youssef En-Nesyri scored the third goal in the 80th minute, capitalizing on a pass from Achraf Hakimi. En-Nesyri became the first Moroccan player to score in four consecutive editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
