Morocco retained its title by winning the 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan), which must be distinguished from the African Nations Cup (CAN). Unlike CAN, Chan, which has just ended, is a competition where players from local championships are selected to the exclusion of those playing in extra-African championships. In this configuration, it is thanks to its victory over Mali 2-0 (half-time: 0-0), Sunday, in Yaoundé, in the presence of 10,000 spectators authorized to attend this final, that Morocco s’ succeeded himself on the roof of Africa. During this final, the team with the best attack of the tournament (13 goals before the final), Morocco and the one with the best defense, Mali (3 goals conceded before this final meeting) faced each other.
Two goals from a corner opened the way to the coronation
After stumbling for more than an hour on the rearguard of the Eagles, the Atlas Lions, winners of the previous edition organized at home, opened the scoring in the 69e minute thanks to a superb goal from Soufiane Bouftini’s header, well served by Omar Namsaoui on a corner. Their captain Ayoub El Kaabi doubled the lead ten minutes later with a point blank header, also following a corner kick. Previously, Mali had had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, but the six-meter recovery from Moussa Ballo, well served in the 64e minute on a pass through millimeter, was deflected by the Moroccan goalkeeper Anas Zniti.
The meeting was marked by an exclusion, without impact on the course of events: that of Malian Issaka Samaké in extra time, for having stepped on the ankle of a Moroccan player while trying to overwhelm him, which earned him a second yellow card. If Morocco managed the double, Mali lost for the second time in the final of a Chan, after the loss in 2016 against DR Congo. Initially scheduled for April 4 to 25, the African Nations Championship, a tournament reserved for African players playing on the continent, was postponed from January 16 to February 7 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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