MATCH FACTS: Hosts look to seal top spot in Group A at TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025

Hosts Morocco will seek to beat already eliminated Tanzania when they play their final Group A game at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 in Mohammedia on Sunday (kick-off 20:00 local time / GMT).

Tanzania cannot finish above bottom place in the pool, while leaders Morocco (+5) edge second-placed Zambia (+3) on goal-difference with both sides on four points.

This will be the first meeting between Morocco and Tanzania at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON.

Morocco are facing East African opponents for a second time, their first meeting was against Uganda in their opening game at the current finals which they won 3-0.

Tanzania are meeting North African opponents for the first time at the finals and this is also their maiden meeting with a host nation.

MOROCCO FACTS
·      Progression to the next round will see Morocco Qualify for the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup. It will be the third time they will have qualified for the tournament along with 2013 and 2023.

·      Progression to the knockout stages will see Morocco reach beyond the group stages for a third time along with 2013 and 2023. Their only previous group stage elimination was in 2019 when their next opponents Tanzania were hosts.

·      Should they reach the knockout rounds Morocco will be the 8th host nation to successfully pass through the group phase. Prior to Algeria reaching the Quarter-finals in 2023, three hosts Niger in 2015, Gabon in 2017 and Tanzania in 2019 had been eliminated in the group phase.

·      Progression for Morocco will see them move to the knockout rounds in both tournaments in which they have been hosts, ended fourth as hosts in 2013.

·      Morocco drew their last game 0-0 against Zambia. For a second edition in a row they have failed to win against Zambia, they lost to them 2-1 in their final group game in 2023.

·      Morocco’s goalless draw against Zambia was the first time in 11 group games at the finals that they have been involved in a 0-0 game. It was also just the second time in 16 games at the finals that they have had a game end goalless the other was in their Semi-final against Mali in  2023 a game they won on penalties.

·      At the finals, Morocco have only ever failed to score in two of their 11 group games, which was in their 1-0 loss to Guinea in their final group game in 2019 and their last game at the current finals against Zambia.

·      In nine of the 10 group games at the finals Morocco have scored in, they have managed to score first. The only time in a group game they did not score first was in their 1-0 loss to Guinea in their final group game in 2019.

·      Morocco’s record in their final group game at the finals reads P3 W0 D1 L2.

·      Morocco have never previously won their final group game at the finals in 2013 already through to the last four they drew 1-1 with Tunisia. In 2019 having drawn and lost their first two games against Senegal and Cameroon, they lost their third group game against Guinea. While in 2013, after wins against South Africa and Nigeria, they lost to Zambia in their final group game, a match in which they had originally lead.

·      Should they manage to avoid defeat, Morocco will go through a group phase undefeated for the second time and first since 2013 when they previously hosted the tournament. In 2013 they won their first two games and drew their final group game against Tunisia.

·      Morocco have scored five goals at the current finals, the most goals they have scored in a single group stage was eight in 2013.

·      Should they keep a clean-sheet, Morocco would have kept three successive clean sheets at the final for the first time. It would also be the first time they would not concede a goal in the group phase at the finals.

·      Morocco only managed one shot on target in their 0-0 draw against Zambia while they were able to have six on target in their opening game win over Uganda.

·      Morocco’s Amine Ouahabi won eight duels in their drew with Zambia in their last game, the joint most in the game and the most in the Moroccan side.

TANZANIA FACTS
·      Tanzania lost their opening two games against Zambia 4-1 and Uganda 3-0.

·      Should they be defeated they will lose three successive group games for a second tournament in succession. They also lost all three in 2019.

·      Tanzania have conceded at least one goal in each of their last seven games at the finals. Their only clean-sheet was in their 0-0 draw against Mali in their opening game in 2017.

·      Tanzania’s last victory at the finals was in their second group game in 2017 a 2-1 win over Angola.

·      Tanzania’s record in their final group game reads P2 L2. They have lost both of their final group games previously 1-0 against Niger in 2017 and Angola 4-2 in 2019.

·      Tanzania have conceded seven goals in their opening two games at the current finals, the only time they have let in more goals in their opening two games was in 2019 when they conceded eight. In 2019 they conceded 12 goals in the group stage. 

·      Tanzania have conceded at least three goals in each of their last five games at the finals. They have conceded four goals in two games and three in the other three games.

·      Despite their loss to Uganda in their last game, Tanzania had 52.7% of the possession and also competed more passes 258 to Uganda’s 229.

·      In their loss to Uganda, Abraham Nassoro the Tanzania goalkeeper made six saves from the nine shots he faced.