Julius OkorieMorocco U-20 side, signaled they could be a free scoring side ahead of their next encounter against the Flying Eagles on Sunday.
The Atlas Cubs beat hard fighting Kenya 3-2 in their opener at the ongoing U-20 Championship in Egypt.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelKenya had shot into the lead as early as 16th minute via Lawrence Oluma. But the strike appeared to be an invitation for trouble as Morocco struck twice with Yassair Zabiri grabbing a brace within ten minutes, leaving the score line at 2-1 in favour of Morocco 70 minutes into the interesting encounter.
Kenya however bounced back with an equaliser in the 71st minute with subsequent moves looking as though it would end in a 2-2 draw.
However, the Atlas Cubs roared and struck eight minutes later with a goal from Reda Laalaoui thus shooting the game out of the reach of their Kenyan counterparts, who fought hard towards the closing minutes of the game but to no avails.
Morocco who are seeking their second title in the U-20 championship will face Flying Eagles of Nigeria on Sunday in their second match.
Flying Eagles began their campaign on a victorious note on Workers’ Day, with a lone goal win over Tunisia. A 38th minute goal by Auwal Ibrahim who enjoyed a timely assist from Odinaka Okoro was all that was needed to disarm the Tunisian lads.
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Although it was a slim victory, it nonetheless continued the Nigerian lad’s dominance over their Tunisian counterparts at the U-20 level, registering a fourth win in six matches dating back to 1981.
On that occasion, the Flying Eagles defeated Tunisia 4–0 in Lagos in a FIFA World Youth Championship qualifier, though they lost the return leg 1–4 in Tunis and still progressed on aggregate.
In 1985, the sides settled for a 1–1 draw in Tunis during the African U20 Championship final, with Nigeria winning the return leg 2–1 in Lagos to clinch their second continental title.
More recently, the Flying Eagles overwhelmed Tunisia 4–0 in the 2023 third-place match of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations, also hosted in Egypt.
Flying Eagles will be aiming to earn a second straight win on Sunday but must overcome the hurdle of Atlas Cubs who appear to be ready to fire from all angles.
Interestingly synergy in the Flying Eagles so far has been fantastic since the beat Egypt in the pre-tournament friendly before Thursday’s opening victory against Tunisia.
The Nigeria against Morocco clash is one to look forward to. Meanwhile matches lined up today in continuation of the championship will see Senegal take on Central African Republic, just as Congo DR battle Ghana at the Venue New Suez Stadium.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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