The Albiceleste remain on 27 and the Atlas Lions have 31 after drawing with Gabon in the Africa Cup of Nations

Marruecos supera a Argentina como la selección con más partidos sin perder

photo_camera Morocco national football team

Morocco, along with Nigeria, are one of the first teams to qualify for the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), which will be played in Cameroon in 2022. 

The draw against Gabon sealed qualification and, in the process, took the North African team to a world record. 

Gabon were without captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a coronary heart condition after COVID-19 forced him to head to London. Gabon took the lead twice, with goals from Allevinah and Aguerd, but Morocco equalised with goals from Boufal on penalty and Hakimi in the 84th minute.

The streak started precisely after the defeat against Gabon 2-3 on 15 October 2019 in a friendly at the Ibn Batouta stadium in Tangier. 

After that defeat, Vahid Halilhodzic's side set in motion a process of play and results that has seen them become favourites for the CAN 2022 and set their sights on the World Cup in Qatar. 

Morocco beat Algeria 3-0 in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers and remained unbeaten at the end of 2019 after a 3-0 win over Burundi and a goalless draw with Mauritania in the Africa Cup of Nations. 

Three more post-pandemic friendlies in late 2020 resulted in a 3-1 win over Guinea; the same scoreline against Senegal and a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Two more wins in the CAN qualifiers against Central African Republic 0-2 and 4-1 gave way to the 2021 opener with a 1-0 win over Guinea in January of that year. Right after that, it was the turn of the CHAN where they beat Togo 1-0 and Uganda 5-2 but drew with Rwanda 0-0. In the playoffs of the tournament, which they eventually won, they went on to beat Zambia 3-1, Cameroon 4-0 and Mali 2-0 in the final.

Selección de fútbol de Marruecos

It is these matches in the tournament that raise doubts about the series of victories as it is a tournament played only by players from the local leagues, although they are, after all, representing Morocco and its senior national team. 

In March 2021, on their way to the CAN, they drew 0-0 with Mauritania and beat Burundi 1-0. Since then, Morocco have won 11 consecutive victories and the Atlas Lions have made a huge leap in quality. 

Two friendlies against Ghana and Burkina Faso, which they won by the narrowest of margins. The second round of the CAN qualifiers saw them score 21 goals against Sudan 2-0; Guinea-Bissau 5-0 and 3-0; Guinea 4-1 and 3-0 and Sudan 3-0. 

In the Arab Cup at the end of 2021, Morocco lost the final on penalties to Algeria after a 2-2 draw. Earlier, they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0; Jordan 4-0 and Palestine 4-0. 

So far in the CAN, Morocco have beaten Ghana 1-0, Comoros 2-0 and the record-breaking 2-2 draw with Gabon. A statistic that squares the circle for a team destined to conquer Africa once again.

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