Morocco and Algeria will battle for the throne of Arab youth football
Morocco and Algeria, Algeria and Morocco, two rivals in many areas such as politics and society in North Africa today, will soon be facing each other in the sporting arena with one goal in mind: to take the crown of Arab youth football.
The Moroccan and Algerian national teams will play next Thursday in the final of the Arab U-17 Football Cup in a match of the greatest rivalry between the two Maghreb neighbours, which will be played precisely on Algerian soil.
Morocco booked their place in the final of the Arab Cup after beating Yemen 2-0 in the semi-finals of the tournament in a match played on Monday in Sig, in the province of Mascara.
Mouad Bakizane scored Morocco's first goal late in the game, in the 78th minute, and Said Rafai sealed the game in favour of the young Atlas Lions in added time, in the 95th minute, after a great individual move. Morocco showed character against a tough Yemeni side and searched for the goal throughout the match, but the goals came late in the game in the face of Yemen's resistance.
In the other semi-final, also played at the same venue on Monday, Algeria qualified for the final by beating Saudi Arabia 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 extra time draw.
Moroccan coach Said Chiba has managed to lead his young charges to the final of the tournament despite the setback of a poor result in the first match of the competition. Since that defeat, Morocco have not lost all the way to the final against Algeria.
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المباراة النهائية للنسخة الرابعة لبطولة كأس العرب للناشئين 2022 .. pic.twitter.com/LNZ64FIvFO— الاتحاد العربي لكرة القدم (@UAFAAC) September 5, 2022
Sig, in Mascara, will once again be the setting for the final, pitting Morocco against hosts Algeria, who will have the support of their home crowd in the midst of a rivalry between two countries that often transcends sporting matters. The task for the Moroccan side will not be easy as Algeria have won all their matches in the tournament by comprehensive scorelines against Palestine, Sudan, UAE and Iraq, with the exception of the semi-final against the Saudis.
The final is scheduled for Thursday 8 September with both teams looking to win the Arab Cup at U-17 level for the first time in their history. In previous editions, Saudi Arabia won the title against Syria in 2011, Tunisia won the competition after beating Iraq in the final in 2012 and Iraq gained revenge by beating Saudi Arabia in 2014.
