Line-ups, stats and preview for AFCON final

Match Preview for Senegal v Morocco

Morocco‘s bid to end a 50-year wait to be crowned champions of Africa is edging closer although there is still one major hurdle to overcome: Senegal.

Walid Regragui’s side have built on their remarkable run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals and go into the game in Rabat as slight favourites as they seek their first continental crown since 1976.

If they were to emerge victorious, it would continue their rise to prominence on the global stage. Their efforts in Qatar just over three years ago have been built upon and Morocco will stage games at the 2030 World Cup alongside fellow co-hosts Spain and Portugal.

It all appears to be falling into place for the Atlas Lions and they will be roared on by a passionate home crowd tomorrow evening.

“It’s a unique moment for us,” said captain Achraf Hakimi after their semi-final success over Nigeria, courtesy of a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out. “We’ve made history once again, this team deserves it. All Moroccans deserve it but we haven’t finished the job yet.”

Morocco boast a tight defence, led by Paris Saint-Germain full-back Hakimi while their attacking threat has come from Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz, the tournament’s top scorer with five goals in six games.

Senegal can counter Diaz’s undoubted ability with a superstar of their own: Sadio Mane.

It was the Al-Nassr striker who grabbed the only goal in their semi-final win over Egypt and he will spearhead the Senegal charge alongside fellow members of a dangerous-looking front three: Nicolas Jackson and Iliman Ndiaye.

Like Morocco, Senegal have made significant investment into their national side, aware of the commercial and social benefits of having a successful team on the global stage.

And former forward El-Hadji Diouf, who is now an advisor at the Senegalese FA, hopes it will bear fruit, starting tomorrow.

He told Le Parisien: “I knew the huge efforts made since 2002, with a focus on youth development, would eventually pay off. We’ve been preparing the future of Senegalese football for a long time. We’ve maintained continuity since our [AFCON] quarter-final loss to Cameroon in 2017. Then we played the 2019 final and clinched the title in 2022.”

Diouf is confident the Lions of Teranga will get the job done, adding: “Youngsters have come in, but there was already a core group to welcome them: Édouard Mendy, [Kalidou] Koulibaly, [Idrissa] Gana Gueye, and Sadio Mané. We’ve mixed wisdom with youthful exuberance. Senegal is now a Molotov cocktail that can hurt any team.

“Morocco will play at home, but we’ve got real men. This is the dream final, a celebration of African football between the two best teams in recent years. Let’s savour it and show the world that the Africa Cup of Nations is the greatest competition out there.”