Morocco and Mali were unable to find a way through the 90 minutes of this semi-final. It is finally in the penalty shootout that the Moroccans win after having their backs against the wall. They join Senegal in the final.
Morocco and Mali had scored at least one goal in each of their outings in this competition. Even in their 2-1 loss to Zambia, when they had already qualified for the quarter-finals and had rotated their squad, the Atlas Cubs had managed to find the net. But this Sunday, May 14, against the hermetic defense of the Eagles, they were stymied for 90 minutes.
As in the first semi-final match, it took a penalty shoot-out to decide between the two teams. It was the Moroccans who were the more skilful in this exercise (6-5). The Malians can be blamed for having two match points because the Moroccans missed their second and third attempts. They were unable to take advantage of this. They then missed their 8th shot. Zahouani scored the match point and sent Morocco into the final. Mali, winners in 2015 and 2017, will not play a third U17 final this year.
INTO THE FINAL ✅
Morocco reach their first-ever #TotalEnegiesAFCONU17 final 🦁 pic.twitter.com/8qzTSk5SSW
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 2023 🏆 (@CAF_Online) May 14, 2023
In the final, the Atlas Cubs will face Senegal, who beat Burkina Faso (1-1, 5-4 on penalties). This is a new game at this stage of the competition. The two nations have never played in U17 AFCON final. There will thus be a new winner in the list of winners next Friday. For Senegal, it will mark a total domination in all CAF competitions except the U23. And Morocco, if they are crowned, will be the first from the northern zone on the roof of Africa since Egypt in 1997 in Botswana.
