Yaoundé (AFP)
Morocco retained its title by winning the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) thanks to its victory over Mali 2-0 (half-time: 0-0), Sunday in Yaoundé, in the presence of 10,000 spectators authorized to attend this final.
The team with the best attack of the tournament (13 goals before the final), Morocco, and the one with the best defense, Mali (3 goals conceded before this final meeting) faced each other.
The bounty returned to the attack.
After stumbling for more than an hour on the rearguard of the Eagles, the Atlas Lions, winners of the previous edition organized at home, opened the scoring in the 69th minute with a superb header. by Soufiane Bouftini well served by Omar Namsaoui on a corner.
Their captain Ayoub El Kaabi doubled the lead ten minutes later with a point blank header, also following a corner kick.
Previously, Mali had had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, but Moussa Ballo's six-meter recovery, well served in the 64th minute on a millimeter through pass, was deflected by Moroccan goalkeeper Anas Zniti.
The meeting was marked by an exclusion, without impact on the course of events: that of Malian Issaka Samake in extra time, for having stepped on the ankle of a Moroccan player while trying to overwhelm him, which earned him a second yellow card.
If Morocco managed the double, Mali lost for the second time in the final of a CHAN, after the loss in 2016 against the DR Congo.
Initially scheduled from April 4 to 25, the CHAN (African Nations Championship), a tournament reserved for African players playing on the continent, had been postponed from January 16 to February 7 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
© 2021 AFP