Morocco Victorious At CHAN

Morocco won the TOTAL African Nations Championship (CHAN) held in Cameroon, with a 2-0 victory over Mali on Sunday evening. 

Their victory was secured by two second-half headers by Abdelmouna Boutouil and captain Ayoub El Kaabi.  

This is the second time the Moroccan national team, the Atlas Lions, have won the title. In 2018 they defeated Nigeria 4-0 to take the title in the CHAN 2018 final held in Casablanca. They are the first side to win a second successive title in the tournament, which is designed exclusively for home-based players. 

Commenting on the result Morocco’s coach Houcine Ammouta stated, "First of all I will congratulate Mali and coach Diane Nouhoum for their run in the competition. Reaching the final is a feat. For us we came here with a changed team by 65% and a new staff. So it was about writing our own story and winning for ourselves. Today's final was difficult but we did the essential, won and I believe we merit the victory plus the trophy" 

Chipolopolo made it to the quarter-finals following their group fixtures. The Zambian national team finished second in Group D, below the Guinean national team which also finished on five points but had a better goal difference. 

Chipolopolo went on to face Morocco in the quarter finals, with the Atlas Lions having secured their place by finishing top of Group C. The defending champions won 3-1, with Chipolopolo on the back foot two goals down early on in the match. 

Zambia’s attempts to pull the match back took a further hit when Zechariah Chilongoshi was sent off in the 20th minute for a studs-high challenge, which resulted in a red card. Substitute Moses Phiri secured the only goal for Zambia in the 79th minute.

Following the quarter-final match Morocco faced Cameroon in the semi-finals before facing Mali in the final on Sunday.