Morocco U17 draw with Tunisia in AFCON opener

Morocco’s U17 football team and its Tunisian counterpart played out a 1-1 draw on Wednesday in their opening Group A match of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations, held at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat.

From the outset, the Atlas Cubs made their attacking intentions clear, showing determination to take the lead with runs down the flanks led by Ibrahim Rabbaj and Mohamed Habib Zinbi.

Tunisia’s first warning came in the 13th minute through Adem Borji, whose shot flew over the crossbar, before teammate Ayhem Taboubi tried his luck three minutes later.

Tunisia managed to open the scoring through Yahya Jlidi in the 28th minute, after he latched onto an assist from Mohamed Amine Away. The goal pushed the Moroccan players to step up their efforts in search of an equalizer, with the lively Ibrahim Rabbaj at the heart of their attacking play.

After the break, Tiago Lima Pereira’s side regained control of the match and showed greater attacking intent, notably in the 54th minute when Rabbaj slipped a pass into the Tunisian penalty area, though Morocco’s forwards were unable to make the most of it.

The introduction of Mohamed Amine Moustache in place of Adnan El Boujjoufi in the 64th minute gave fresh impetus to Morocco’s attack, which kept up constant pressure on the Tunisian defense and was eventually rewarded with an equalizer from Ilian Hadidi in the 76th minute.

The Atlas Cubs will face Ethiopia in their next match on Saturday on Pitch No. 8 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex at 8:00 p.m.