CHAN: Morocco overcome Senegal in penalty shootout to qualify for final

Morocco stayed composed to overcome defending champions Senegal in a penalty shootout and advance to the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) with a semifinal victory in Kampala, Uganda on Tuesday evening. Following a 1-1 draw, Morocco converted all five of their spot kicks to win 5-3 in the shootout.

An even clash saw Senegal content to search for counter-attacking opportunities while letting the Atlas Lions enjoy the majority of possession. Senegal did look more dangerous in the opening fifteen minutes and poor marking gave the Senegalese their reward when defender Layousse Samb arrived to head in a corner kick service from Libasse Guèye.

The Moroccans bounced back within ten minutes. A pass attempt into the Senegalese penalty area was only cleared out just beyond the edge of the penalty area. Morocco set piece specialist Sabir Bougrine showed his excellent technique with a spectacular volley that left Senegal goalkeeper Marc Philips Diouf helpless to level the match.

Morocco escaped a red card early in the second half when Marouane Louadni appeared to deny a clear goal scoring opportunity by fouling Vieux Cissé. A Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review determined that Cissé went down too easily and an initial red card to Louadni was rescinded in favor of a yellow card.

Both teams had chances to win the match in the second half. Ayoub Khairi shot just wide for Morocco in the 69th minute from Youssef Mehri’s cross. Morocco keeper El Mehdi Al Harrar was left flapping hopelessly at a cross ten minutes later Ababacar Sarr directed the resulting header wide.

Extra time did nothing to separate the teams and penalty kicks were needed. After Morocco captain Mohamed Hrimat began the shootout with a successful spot kick, Senegal defender Mbaye Ndiaye crashed his effort off the crossbar.

Two-time champions Morocco will look to achieve a record total of CHAN titles when they face Tuesday’s earlier winners, Madagascar, in the final on Saturday at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya (15:00 GMT). Senegal will end their tournament in the third place match against Sudan on Friday in Kampala (15:00 GMT).