North African heavyweights Tunisia and Morocco meet
once again at the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations at the Suez Canal Stadium in
Ismailia on Wednesday, rekindling a rivalry that dates back to 1981.
The outcome of this Group B match could determine the
pool winner, depending on Nigeria’s result against Kenya.
Victory for either would see them advance. A draw will
be enough for Morocco to progress to the knockout stages.
Tunisia, meanwhile, could still advance as one
of the best third-placed teams with a draw.
Their previous encounters at the U20 AFCON include a
two-legged first-round clash in 1981 – where each side won 1-0 at home before
Tunisia edged through 6-5 on penalties – and a dramatic quarterfinal meeting in
2021, which ended 0-0 before Tunisia advanced with a 4-1 shootout victory in
Nouadhibou.
The teams most recently faced off in qualifying for
this edition during the 2024 UNAF Tournament.
That match, held at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia
last November, saw Tunisia take an early lead through Khalil Ayari, only for
Morocco to come back with second-half goals from Mouad Dahak and Reda Laalaoui
to win 2-1.
Tunisia lost their opening game to Nigeria but bounced back with a 3-1 win over
Kenya, coming from behind.
However, they have never won back-to-back group
matches at the tournament.
The victory over Kenya ended a three-match losing
streak in open play.
Tunisia are aiming for a third quarterfinal
appearance, having reached the last eight in 1985, 2021, and 2023.
In their final group games, Tunisia lost 2-1 to
Central African Republic in 2021 and beat Zambia 2-1 in 2023.
Tunisia have conceded in each of their last six
matches at the finals – their last clean sheet came in a 0-0 draw against
Benin in 2021.
Against Kenya, Tunisia attempted 300 passes, 171
of which were in the opposition half.
They also recorded five shots on target – their
highest tally in a match at the current tournament.
On the other hand, Morocco, who drew 0-0 with Nigeria
in their last match and need just a point to reach the knockout rounds for a
third straight tournament.
They were semi-finalists in 2005 and quarterfinalists
in 2021. Since the introduction of group stages, Morocco has exited in the
first round twice (1993 and 2003) and progressed beyond it in 1997, 2005, and
2021.
They have been unbeaten in their last eight
group-stage matches at the finals, winning five times and thrice ending their
matches in a draw.
Their last group-stage loss was a 4-0 defeat to Egypt
in 2003.
In each of their last three tournaments, Morocco
have won their opening group match and drawn the second.
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A draw would mark the first time Morocco have had
back-to-back group-stage draws.
Morocco’s record in final group matches stands at Play
5, Win 3, Lose 2.
The wins include 2-0 vs Senegal (1993), 1-0 vs Angola
(2005), and 3-0 vs Tanzania (2021).
Historically, when Morocco have drawn their second
group game, they’ve gone on to win the third (as in 2005 and 2021).
If they avoid defeat this time, Morocco
will finish a group stage unbeaten for the fourth time (joining 1997, 2005, and
2021).
The draw with Nigeria was the first time across
the 2021 and current editions that Morocco failed to register a shot on target.
Morocco boast five clean sheets in their last six
games at the finals, with their only concession being in a 3-2 win over Kenya.
They have also kept clean sheets in their last group
matches in 2005 (1-0 vs Angola), all three group games in 2021, and most
recently vs Nigeria.
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