Olympic Qualifier: Morocco Beat Nigeria Conqueror At U23 AFCON

Olympic Qualifier: Morocco Beat Nigeria Conqueror At U23 AFCON

By Gbenga Gboyega

The Africa Cup of Nations Championship for the U-23 national teams commenced on Saturday, 24th June 2023, but without the Dream Team of Nigeria featuring, as Ghana and Morocco both picked wins in their opening games, bsnsports.com.ng reports.

Although, Nigerian fans will find some relief from the opening fixture between Morocco's U-23 team and the Guinea U-23 team, as the Atlas Cubs had to come from behind to defeat Guinea U-23 in a 2-1 win encounter. 

Recall that Guinea U-23 knocked Nigeria out of contention following a 2-0 win over two legs in March 2023. So, seeing 21-year-old Abdessamad Ezzalzouli score a brace of penalties in the second half for the Atlas Cubs, after Algassime Bah opened the scoring for the Guineans in the first half, should be some clap back on the part of Nigerians. 

Nigeria's omission from the Championship also saw the Dream Team lose out on participating in the forthcoming Olympic Games billed for the 2024 Summer in Paris. 

Today, at the AFCON U-23 Championship, Nigeria rivals, Ghana U-23 defeated Congo U-23 in the first game of the day, churning out a five-goal thriller, with Ernest Nuamah's opener in the 51st minute, followed by Emmanuel Yeboah's brace in the 75th and 83rd minutes, enough to earn all maximum points. 

The top two teams in Groups A and B will progress to the semi-finals, which will also determine Africa's representatives at the Olympic Games come Paris 2024.