All eyes will be on the Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium as Morocco and Egypt battle for the U23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title. Which of these teams will reign supreme when it's all said and done?
𝙈𝘼𝙏𝘾𝙃𝘿𝘼𝙔 🇲🇦🦁
Exciting game in the AFCON U23 final as Morocco takes on reigning champions Egypt 🇲🇦🇪🇬
One last step from Atlas Lions at the AFCON U23, ready for the most important game 🌍🏆
Let's keep the trophy here 🇲🇦🏆
🏟 Moulay Abdellah Stadium
📺 Arryadia TNT -… pic.twitter.com/pin2QP3UOX— 𝗠𝗩𝗡_𝗘𝗡 | 🇲🇦 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 (@MVN_EN) July 7, 2023
These have undoubtedly been the best teams in this competition so far. While Morocco finished at the top of the Group A standings, Egypt were the leaders in Group B. Interestingly, the Egyptians are the defending champions, having won this competition four years ago. Morocco, on the other hand, are the hosts of this tournament. That said, this promises to be an exciting fixture.
Prediction 1: Draw
Morocco are the favourites to win this match for obvious reasons. For one, being the hosts, they have the advantage of playing at home. Furthermore, Issame Charai's boys have been unstoppable in this tournament, winning every match they've played. It's important to point out that Cameroon are coming into this match on the back of five consecutive wins.
On the other hand, Egypt have been perhaps the toughest team to beat in this tournament. They are currently on a 10 match unbeaten run across all competitions, and have won three in a row. The most impressive thing about the Egyptians is their solid defense; as they made it through to the final without conceding a single goal.
As a matter of fact, Rogerio Micale's men kept nine clean sheets in their last 10 matches, allowing just one goal in that stretch. Considering how well these teams have played lately, we believe that both teams will be level after 90 minutes, and this match will be decided in extra time.
Egypt’s U23 faced Morocco in a friendly last year in preparation for the #TotalEnergiesAFCONU23 and won 2-1 🇪🇬
But I think that was without the European based players.@PharaohsXI @EquipedeEgypte pic.twitter.com/r3BC7NNEJe
— ahmed🇪🇬 (@REALPHARAO) July 7, 2023
Prediction 2: Both teams to score
We've already established that Egypt conceded just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions. However, preventing this Morocco team from scoring is easier said than done. The hosts have been by far the highest-scoring side in this competition; they registered 10 goals in four matches so far.
In fact, Morocco's scoring streak didn't start at this tournament; as they've scored in 10 consecutive matches. Likewise, Egypt found the back of the net in their last three matches; and considering both teams got on the scoresheet in three of Morocco's last four matches, we shouldn't expect goals at both ends.
Final 🌟🇲🇦
~ Saturday, 9PM#dimamaghrib #morocco #footballedits #photochop #rabat #caf #u23 #graphicdesign pic.twitter.com/MAcoWYYSar— Yassine Guetmy (@YassineGmy1) July 7, 2023
Prediction 3: Under 2.5 goals
For our last Morocco vs Egypt prediction, let's explore the over/under goals market. Although we believe that both teams will be amongst the goals, we don't think these teams will score up to three goals between them. It may interest you to know that Morocco and Egypt have both been involved in their fair share of low-scoring matches in recent months.
On one hand, five of Morocco's last seven matches featured less than three goals at the end of regulation time. Similarly, all of Egypt's last 14 matches went below the 2.5 goal mark, with 10 of those games going under 1.5. Taking everything into account, this will likely be a low-scoring affair.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 months ago
