U17 AFCON: Senegal v Morocco, Hubert Velud's analysis

It has become a habit: whenever there is a men's Africa Cup of Nations final, Senegal are in it. They won the senior one in Cameroon and the beach soccer one in Mozambique in 2022, and the Under-20 AFCON in Egypt last March. To that glittering roll of honour can be added the African Nations Championship (CHAN), won last February against the local side, Algeria's home-based team, at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, near Algiers. It is there on Friday that Serigne Saliou Dia's Under-17s will take on Morocco.

The winners, whoever they are, will be first-time champions, as neither country has ever won the tournament, which doubles as qualification for the U17 World Cup, scheduled from 10 November to 2 December in a country yet to be named. Hubert Velud, the Burkina Faso coach, who is in Algeria to watch the young Etalons, leans towards Senegal as favourites for this final. "That team impressed me most in the quarter-final against South Africa (5-0). They combined athletic power and technical quality, on top of a solid defensive base. It is a side that likes to attack but also knows how to be very ruthless. That was the case in the semi-final against Burkina Faso (1-1, 5-4 on penalties), in a match where I found them very ordinary, well below the level of their previous performance."

Velud taken with Amara Diouf

The French coach was particularly impressed by Amara Diouf (14 years old), the tournament's current top scorer (5 goals). "He plays for Génération Foot, and you can see that Senegal are ahead of many other countries when it comes to player development. Several of these Senegalese internationals play for Génération Foot, but also for Diambars and Dakar Sacré Cœur, which are benchmarks in Africa." But Morocco have also decided, for many years now, to make youth development one of the pillars of their football. Coach Saïd Chiba's squad also includes several players from the Mohammed VI Academy, as well as players registered with clubs such as FAR Rabat, FUS Rabat and Raja Casablanca.

Morocco, who knocked out Algeria in the quarter-finals (3-0), play a game that is "technical, as is always the case with North African teams. The Moroccan side play well, but physically I think they are less well equipped than the Senegalese. That is why I lean towards Senegal as favourites for this final, because they seem perhaps a little more complete. But I think it will be decided by fine margins, between the two best teams in the competition."

Related: U17 AFCON: Senegal or Morocco, who will make history?

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Alexis Billebault