Morocco win record third CHAN title after beating Madagascar

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 2024 AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP 

 AUGUST 30 FINAL RESULT 
🇲🇬 Madagascar 2-3 Morocco 🇲🇦
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Oussama Lamlioui produced a man-of-the-match performance as his brace, including an 80th-minute wondergoal, helped Morocco claim an unprecendented third African Nations Championship (CHAN) title after edging Madagascar 3-2 at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Saturday.

In remarkable fashion, the Moroccan forward wrapped up a memorable campaign as the tournament's top scorer with six goals, his winning long-range goal — and this edition's 90th — doing well to not only stun the entire stadium and watching world, but also seal Morocco's stellar production at this concluding historic competition jointly hosted by the three East African nations of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

The Atlas Lions now sit at the dizzying summit as the only team to win CHAN three times, ahead of DR Congo (two titles), with whom they had jointly shared that honour in the lead-up to Saturday's final.

Morocco are also the only team to defend the CHAN title, having done so at the 2020 edition in Cameroon. At this just-concluded competition, they denied 2022 champions Senegal a chance to potentially match that feat in the semi-finals.

For Madagascar, it is a second appearance and they have undoubtedly left a huge mark, having taken bronze at their debut appearance and now return to Antananarivo as runners-up.

The main celebrations though are back in Rabat, after Morocco produced a fightback in the highest-scoring CHAN final in history — keenly watched, from the VIP section of the stadium, by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, FIFA president Giovanni Infantino and CAF president Dr Patrice Motsepe.

After a coulourful closing ceremony under the warmth of Nairobi's evening sunshine, the attentions shifted on the 22 men on the pitch.

Morocco hit the ground running and could have in front two minutes into the game had Lamlioui been at his usual precise best when, racing goalwards with only the keeper to beat, the Moroccan forward slashed his effort uncharacteristically wide of the mark.

The Atlas Lions' dominant start was matched by Madagascar's solidity and discipline at the back. Down the right, Mohamed Boulacsout was a constant source of unease for the  already-busy Malagasy defence with his blistering runs and penetration.

But against the run play, Madagascar took the lead in the ninth minute. In their first meaningful advance into Morocco's final third, the Barea strung a series of passes that had Nantenaina Razafimahatana (Gregas) feed in Félicité Manohantsoa, who applied nifty footwork to swivel and power his strike past Moroccan goalkeepr El Mehdi Al Harrar into the top left corner to get the thriller well and truly started.

From then on, Morocco's mounting desperation to swiftly claw their back into this contest spewed tell tale signs. In the 19th minute, for instance, Khalid Baba overcooked his shot from several yards out. Then not long after, his teammate, the industrious full-back Boulacsout, raced into the opposition's final third, before giving a good go at Michel Ramandimbisoa's goal — his fierce effort driving the ball to hurtle so close to the target.

In all truth, the green shirts in the Madagascar backline were the busier at the office on the day. Eventually, they caved in — inevitably — as Morocco's relentless pressure paid off in the 27th minute.

Baba raced on to a quickly-taken freekick by captain Mohamed Hrimat down the right wing, before sweeping the ball into the crowded box for Youssef Mehri to lift off quickest and highest and angle his header beyond a fully stretched but beaten Ramandimbisoa.

After that equalizer, Morocco turned up the pressure knob with more attacks Madagascar's way. And perhaps that never-ending torment couldn't have told more clearly than with the sight of Malagasy keeper Ramandimbisoa going down in what appeared to be self-inflicted pain and needing on-pitch medical attention.  And soon after getting back on his feet, albeit gingerly, Ramandimbisoa nearly made a mess of a back pass — the ever-prancing Lamlioui almost punishing him.

Then with one minute left on 29-year-old Cameroonian referee Abdou Abdel Mefire's watch to end the opening half, the Atlas Lions found their second goal.

Neat buildup play by Morocco allowed Boulacsout to race forward with the ball, before exhibiting admirable vision to pick out Lamlioui inside the box, and for the forward to slot in his fifth goal of the campaign. For a moment there, a dramatic VAR check for an apparent handball got Madagascar hopeful. But the youngest referee at this CHAN edition trotted back from the pitch-side monitor to signal that all was okay and the goal was to stand.

The Barea returned for the second half knowing they had to strike a delicate balance: keep their defence airtight while at the same time unlock the shackles on the other end. 

Yet, the Moroccans had their own plans. Whatever Tarik Sektioui told his players inside the dressing room at half time, it must have been in the lines of 'battle to kill off the game with a third goal'.

And that third nearly arrived in the 58th minute when, after desperate defending by the Malagasy inside their box, Sabir Bougrine searched for his third goal of the tournament but his low shot failed to beat Ramandimbisoa.

Half-way into the second half, Toky Rakotondraibe evened the score with Madagascar's second of the night and his third of this campaign, as he capitalized on poor defending by Morocco to set up a scintillating conclusion to this CHAN thriller.

With 15 minutes left on the clock and the scoreline at 2-2, Boulacsout ploughed his way into the Madagascar box and struck the ball with the outside of his boot in the hope of beating the keeper. It turned out to be exactly that: hopeful.

But five minutes later, in the 80th minute, the man Morocco have so long turned to for the goals at this edition featuring only home-based players left the entire stadium shell-shocked with his wondergoal.  Seeing the Malagasy goalkeeper well out of his goal, Lamlioui muscled Mamisoa Rakotoson off an aerial ball near the half-way line to turn and lob the ball first-time into an empty net. Heads in hands all around the vast Moi International Sports Centre!

The Moroccan forward's table-topping sixth goal of this edition proved decisive as the Atlas Lions roared their way to a record third CHAN title.

Madagascar, although heartbroken on the day, will walk away with so much pride as they produce an even better performance at only their second appearance, having finished third at their debut two years ago in Algeria.

Morocco's Mohamed Hrimat was named Man of the Competition.

Senegal's Marc Diouf took the Best Goalkeeper award and his team, the Lions of Teranga and 2024 bronze medallists, won the Fair Play Trophy.

Morocco's journey to a record third title

Morocco, now the record winners of this competition, got their CHAN 2024 campaign off to a winning start against Angola in a Group A game in which Imad Riahi opened the scoring, before Joaqium Quinito's own goal sealed the victory.

After losing 1-0 to co-hosts Kenya in their second game, the Atlas Lions regrouped to beat Zambia 3-1 in their third. Mohamed Hrimat netted first in the opening half stoppage time, Oussama Lamlioui improved the lead, before Sabir Bougrine's stoppage time sealed the three points after Chipolopolo had threatened a comeback.

Morocco produced an identical result in their make-or-break final group game against DR Congo. In that one, Lamlioui's two goals on either end of the interval sandwiched teammate Hrimat's 70th-minute penalty.

The Atlas Lions flew from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam for their quarterfinal clash with co-hosts Tanzania. And in their usual free-flowing approach, the Moroccans got the job done through the tournament's leading goalscorer: Lamlaoui. After proving a constant menace throughout the game, the bandaged forward slotted in his fourth goal of this edition after being fed in by Youssef Belammari from close range. And with that, the Lions roared on.

From Dar es Salaam, Morocco's next stop was Kampala, where reigning champions Senegal, after eliminating co-hosts Uganda in the quarters, were waiting for them for a battle of lions for the spot in the final.

Playing at Mandela National Stadium, tt was the Atlas Lions to concede first as Joseph Layousse Samb headed the Lions of Teranga in front 16 minutes into the contest to boost their title defence.

But seven minutes later,  Sabir Bougrine swept in the equalizer that would eventually drag the duel into extra time and then a penalty shootout. Seyni Mbaye Ndiaye was Senegal's first taker and he saw his penalty blast off the bar to give Morocco the advantage. Morocco went on to convert all their five penalties and reach the final as the holders relinquished their title. (Senegal would then go on to bag bronze after edging Sudan 4-2 on penalties in the third place play-off.)

Then came the final showdown in Nairobi! Five goals later, it was the conclusion that all Moroccans desired.

5 appearances, 3 titles

For Morocco coach Tarik Sektioui and co, make that three titles in five CHAN appearances!

At their debut appearance in 2014, the Atlas Lions were knocked out by Nigeria in the quarter-finals, and then failed to make it past the group stage in the subsequent edition (2016).

Playing as hosts of the 2018 edition, Morocco beat Libya 3-1 in extra time to qualify for the final and eventually win their first title. They successfully defended the title at the 2020 edition, where they thrashed Cameroon 4-0 in the semifinals on their way to beating Mali 2-0 in the final.

At this just-ended historic edition in East Africa, the Atlas Lions have the tournament's current top scorer in Oussama Lamlioui, who has found the back of the net six times. Beneficiaries of an own goal (against Angola in the group stage), Morocco's other goal scorers at this edition are Sabir Bougrine (2), Mohamed Hrimat (2), Imad Riahi (1) and Youssef Mehri (1).

They have conceded six goals — three at the group stage, one in the semifinals against Senegal and two others in the final against Madagascar on Saturday.