Morocco Eyes Further AFCON Glory in 2023 Campaign Opener Against Tanzania

In the opening match of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign, Morocco is set to face Tanzania at the Stade de San Pédro today at 8 pm EAT.

As the top-ranked African team according to FIFA rankings (13) and coming off a fourth-place finish in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Morocco enters the tournament as strong favorites.

Following their historical AFCON win in 1976, Morocco is actively pursuing another title to add to their distinguished accolades. In the 2019 AFCON quarter-finals, they faced Egypt and suffered a 2-1 loss, with Sofiane Boufal opening the scoring, but Egypt making a comeback with Mohamed Salah’s equalizer and Trézéguet’s winner in extra time.

On the other side, Tanzania is making its third AFCON appearance and returns to the tournament after a hiatus in 2019 due to non-qualification. In a recent friendly against Egypt, Tanzania experienced a 2-0 defeat.

Morocco enters the AFCON on an impressive note, boasting an unbeaten record in their last five games across all competitions. This includes a convincing 3-1 victory over Sierra Leone in a friendly last week, where Youssef En-Nesyri scored twice, and Boufal also found the back of the net in the first half.