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Sunday’s delayed final of the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) between champions Morocco and Mali will make history for whoever lifts the trophy.
While Morocco could become the first nation to successfully defend the title, after winning at home in 2018, Mali is seeking a first tournament success for players from its own national leagues.
“There is no team that has retained the CHAN title,” Morocco coach Houcine Ammouta said. “We want to become the first team to do it and we remain positive, taking one step at a time.”
Sunday’s final at Yaoundé’s Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium will only be filled to 25% capacity, with few people due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the dignitaries attending will be the recently reinstated president of the African Football Confederation (Caf), Ahmad, who arrived in Cameroon on Friday and attended a heated Executive Committee meeting on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, Guinea claimed third place after beating host Cameroon 2-0, thanks to first-half goals from Morlaye Sylla and Mamadouba Bangoura in the Douala play-off.
Miserable mali
Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra has conceded a goal in five games and played a key role in the semi-final penalty shoot-out
Mali knows they must improve in goal if they want to do better than they did in Rwanda in 2016, when they lost to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the final.
The home Eagles were unable to score in open play in either the quarter-finals or the semi-finals, and needed penalties to beat Congo Brazzaville and Guinea, respectively, as both games ended scoreless after extra time.
In the group stage, they also struggled for goals, clinching narrow 1-0 victories over Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, while their clash with Cameroon ended 1-1.
They will also have to make sure their defense, which has only conceded once, stays strong against the dangerous Moroccans, top scorers from the last two tournaments.
No West African team has ever won the trophy, which is contested for the sixth time.
Mali route to the final:
- Group A: 1-0 in Burkina Faso, 1-1 in Cameroon, 1-0 in Zimbabwe
- Quarter finals: Won 5-4 on penalties against Congo Brazzaville after 0-0 draw
- Semifinal: Won 5-4 on penalties against Guinea after the 0-0 draw
Moroccan hotshots
Soufiane Boutfini celebrates with his teammates after putting Morocco on the road in the semi-final
The champions are Cameroon’s top scorers, with 13 goals, but they began their title defense quietly with a narrow 1-0 win over Togo followed by a goalless draw with Rwanda.
But since those early days, the Moroccans have found their scoring boots: they beat Uganda 5-2 in their final group stage match before a 3-1 win over Zambia in the quarter-finals and then a thrashing by 4-0 of the hosts in the final semifinals.
Morocco’s captain Ayoub El Kaabi was the hero in 2018 when his nine goals at CHAN not only helped secure the title, but also saw him play at the World Cup in Russia later that year.
In Cameroon, he has just two goals in five games, meaning his colleague Soufiane Rahimi has taken over the mantle of the tournament’s top scorer, his five goals including a semi-final double.
“More than half of the players who won the CHAN 2018 title are not with us and many with the team now don’t have much experience,” Coach Ammouta told the official Caf website.
“We are very motivated to achieve this goal that we set ourselves before coming to the competition. We know what strategies to use to face Mali and we expect a very difficult match.”
Route from Morocco to the final:
- Group C: Won 1-0 against Togo, 0-0 against Rwanda, 5-2 against Uganda
- Quarter finals: Won 3-1 against Zambia
- Semifinal: Won 4-0 against Cameroon
