The Moroccan national team qualified for the semi-finals of the Arab Cup currently being held in Qatar, after defeating their Syrian counterparts 1-0 on Thursday evening, in a match that took place at the Khalifa International Stadium in front of a large crowd, as part of the quarter-final round.
The Syrian national team entered the match affected by the absence of their star player, Omar Khribin, due to a broken wrist injury. This prompted the coach to field Mahmoud Al-Mawas, the striker for the Iraqi club Al-Shorta, to lead the attack. The Atlas Lions also continued to struggle with a string of absences.
From the first few minutes, Al-Mawas tried to exploit his attacking momentum to surprise the Moroccan goalkeeper, Mehdi Benabid, but without any real effectiveness.
In the tenth minute, Morocco’s attacking machine began to move after a series of beautiful passes, which Boulksout finished with a perfect cross that reached the head of Amin Zahzouh, who almost deceived the Syrian goalkeeper Elias Hedaya.
The Moroccan team suffered a painful blow in the 19th minute after Tariq Tissoudali was injured in the head following a strong collision with the Syrian goalkeeper, forcing him to leave the field and be replaced by striker Walid Azaro.
The Syrian team demanded a penalty kick in the 28th minute after a collision inside the area with defender Marwan Saadane, but the referee, after consulting the video technology, confirmed that there was no foul.
The Atlas Lions continued their pressure through coordinated attacks led by Boulksout and Karim El Berkaoui, while the Syrian team tried to respond through quick counter-attacks that relied on speed and the sudden shift from defense to attack.
The Moroccan team almost opened the scoring in the last moments of the first half (45+3), when Amin Zahzouh rushed to collect a new cross from Boulksout, but he was unable to reach it perfectly, so the attempt ended and the two teams entered the dressing rooms with a goalless draw despite the numerous attempts.
Moroccan dominance and a goal in the second half
The second half began with great Moroccan pressure, as Walid Azaro came close to breaking through the Syrian defense prepared by Spanish coach Jose Lana, but the defense intervened at the right moment and cleared the ball off the goal line.
Twenty minutes into the second half, coach Tariq Sektioui made three changes at once, bringing on Mahmoud Bentaik in place of Hamza Moussaoui, Mounir Chouiar in place of Amine Zahzouh, and Ashraf Mahdaoui in place of Walid El Karti.
In the 69th minute, Osama Tannane fired a powerful shot, but Syrian goalkeeper Elias Hedaya made a brilliant save, before Karim El Berkaoui threatened the goal again, but his attempt went just wide of the post.
In the 73rd minute, Sektioui brought on Saber Bougrine to replace Tannane, in an attempt to increase the attacking pressure on the Syrian defense. Marouane Saâdane rose above everyone to head the ball perfectly, but goalkeeper Hedaya continued his excellent performance and brilliantly saved it.
The Moroccan pressure resulted in the only goal being scored in the 78th minute by Walid Azaro, who took advantage of a rebound from the Syrian goalkeeper after a shot by Munir Al-Shuwair.
Saber Bougrine nearly added a second goal with a dangerous curling shot, but the Syrian goalkeeper made another save. The Syrian coach responded by bringing on Omar Khribin and several other attacking players in the 81st minute in an attempt to equalize.
In the final minute of the match, after the intervention of the video technology, player Mohammed Mufid was sent off after his tackle on one of the Syrian players, so the “Lions” completed the extra minutes with ten players, before the match ended with their victory by a clean goal.
It is noted that the Moroccan national team will meet in the “golden semi-finals” the winner of the match between Algeria and the UAE, which will take place tomorrow, Friday.
