Street 20. Rabat
The Moroccan national team was crowned champion of the Arab Football Cup, after defeating its Jordanian counterpart by three goals to two, in the final match that brought them together, this Thursday evening, on the floor of Lusail Stadium, north of Doha.
The legal time of this confrontation ended in a white tie (2-2), as the Atlas Lions were first to score through field midfielder Osama Tannan (4th minute), before the Jordanians equalized the score through striker Ali Alwan in the 48th minute, and the same player added the second goal from a penalty kick (68th minute), while the Moroccan national team achieved a draw in the last breath of the match through substitute Abdel Razzaq Hamdallah (87th minute).
In the first extra half, striker Abdel Razzaq Hamdallah scored the winning goal for the Moroccan national team in the 100th minute.
Returning to the details of this exciting confrontation, the national team did not give its Jordanian counterpart much time until striker Osama Tannan surprised them with a very beautiful goal with a shot from just beyond the midfield line after a backheel ball from Amin Zouhzouh, which goalkeeper Yazid Abu Laila was unable to stop in the fourth minute of the match.
After scoring the first goal, the Moroccan national team sought to add the second goal, but the attempts of both Walid Azaro and Karim Al-Barkawi, whom national voter Tariq Sektioui was forced to replace due to injury, with Ashraf El Mahdioui, did not yield any goals.
From time to time, the national team exerted high pressure on the Jordanian team’s areas in order to prevent the defenders from building operations from the back in a smooth manner.
The Jordanian national team players were unable to find solutions in the middle of the field, in the face of the experience of both Muhammad Rabie Harimat and the good positioning of Ashraf Al Mahdiwi, and posed a threat to the national team’s defensive areas, which broke all the Jordanians’ attempts to return to the result.
The national elements were creative in exchanging balls and applying “automations” in the middle of the field before reaching the Jordanian team’s operations box, and the audience present in the stands interacted extensively with the beautiful shots of the national team elements, so that the first half ended with the Atlas Lions leading with a clean goal.
In the second half, the Jordanian team equalized with a cross from the left side, which Ali Alwan headed in with a header (48th minute), taking advantage of a defensive lapse by the national team.
The Jordanian team won a penalty kick after the referee resorted to video assistant technology (VAR), and Alwan converted it into a second goal for the Jordanian team (68th minute).
The national voter, Tariq Al-Saktiwi, made three changes at once (71st minute), by bringing in Abdul Razzaq Hamrallah, Munir Al-Shuwaier, and Saber Bougrin in place of Anas Bash, Osama Tannan, and Sfia Bouftini, in order to search for a tie result.
The changes resulted in the return of the Atlas Lions in the result, with Abdul Razzaq Hamdallah scoring the second goal (88th minute).
The national team succeeded in increasing the number of goals by scoring the third goal in the 10th minute of the first extra period through Hamdallah, who scored after an penalty kick from defender Marwan Saadane.
At the beginning of the extra half, the national voter inserted Marouane El Ouedni in Azzaro’s place in order to strengthen the defence. The national elements took the lead in defending their areas, and the confrontation ended with the colors of the second Moroccan coronation with this Arab demonstration.
