Talking points as Morocco thrash Tanzania in AFCON opener

The 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco thrashed Tanzania with a 3-0 scoreline in their CAF AFCON group stage opener at Stade de San Pédro Stadium on Wednesday night.

Below are some of the talking points from this Group F clash.

MOROCCO CAPTAIN SHINES 

Morocco skipper Romain Saïss led by example when he broke the deadlock for his nation in the 30th minute of the showdown.

Saïss showed a willingness to do his job wholeheartedly as the leader of the team throughout the match.

Meanwhile, Azzedine Ounahi and Youssef En-Nesyri added to the scoreline to sink Tanzania at Stade de San Pédro.

TANZANIA FAILING TO KEEP CLEAN SHEET 

Tanzania are participating in the CAF AFCON for the third time, and in the seven games they have played in the tournament, they have failed to keep a clean sheet. 

It would have been an honour for Taifa Stars to have kept a clean sheet against the Atlas Lions of Morocco. In the 2019 edition in Egypt, Tanzania lost all three of their group matches.

MOROCCO EUROPEAN PLAYERS FACTOR

The impact of Moroccan stars who ply their trades in Europe such as Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech, Nayef Aguerd, to mention a few; was visible and had a bigger role in this tie. 

Tanzania couldn’t stand such an experience, as things went exactly how many people had expected.

NOVATUS DISMAS SENT OFF

Novatus Dismas was sent off in the 70th minute of the game as he received two yellow cards. 

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Coming into this game, both nations faced each other about two months ago. This was during the beginning of their World Cup qualifiers, where Morocco walked away victorious with a 2-0 scoreline. 

 In their last six meetings head-to-head including today’s game with Tanzania, Walid Regragui’s charges won five games and succumbed to one defeat.

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