As part of the qualifiers for the next CAN under 20, Algeria was caught on the wire by its rival, Morocco (1-1), this Wednesday evening, at the Suez Stadium, in Egypt on the occasion of the 3rd day of qualifying. A draw which mainly affects Morocco's business, which has taken another step towards the final phase.
Penultimate (out of five teams) of these qualifications in the North Africa Zone (UNAF), but with one match less, Algeria had to catch up after sharing the draw against the host countryEgypt (1-1). THE Moroccoleader in the standings, intended to get a little closer to qualification by scoring a third success in as many matches.
Algeria strikes very early but wastes
It was Algeria who planted the first banderilla, very quickly, just before the first quarter of an hour of play. From the 14th minute, Montpellier midfielder, Mohamed Zeghadi, took advantage of a nice opening to the left , to go inside, eliminate then find the left corner of Yanis Benchaouch with a powerful curling shot (1-0).
In front of the scoreboard, the Algerians missed the opportunity to take cover in the second half, while Moroccan defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal conceded a penalty for an arm too far away from the body. Ben Ahmed Kohili's shot from the center hit the crossbar (64th).
Morocco returns to the gong
A miss that the little Greens would regret at the end of the match. Since, four minutes before the end of regulation time, Morocco came back to the score thanks to the returning Yassir Zabiri, who came off the bench on the hour mark. The Famalicao striker took a low cross from right (1-1, 86th).
Algeria can blame itself. Yacine Manaa's players remain stuck in penultimate place, with two points. Morocco, for its part, retains first place and is now three points ahead of its runner-up Egypt, who fell to bottom place Libya (1-2) a little earlier.
Morocco will play its last match on Saturday against Libya, while Algeria will no longer be allowed to make mistakes in the same match against Tunisia (3rd, 3 points), nor against Libya next Tuesday.
The UNAF U20 qualification rankings
- Morocco, 7 points
- Egypt, 4 points
- Tunisia, 3 points (one match in hand)
- Algeria, 2 points (one match in hand)
- Libya, 0 points (one game in hand)
