MATCH FACTS: Morocco clash with Kenya at TotalEnergies CAF U20 AFCON on Thursday
Morocco and Kenya open their Group B campaigns at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in an intriguing battle at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Thursday (kick-off 21:00 local time / 18:00 GMT).
This will be the first meeting between Morocco and Kenya at the TotalEnergies CAF U20 AFCON.
Tanzania are the fourth East African team that Morocco will face at the finals and their record in these games reads P3 W2 L1.
Morocco’s previous games against East African opponents has seen them lose 2-1 to Ethiopia in 1993 in their opening group game.
They overcame Sudan 2-0 in their second group game in 1997 on their way to the title on home soil, while in 2021 they defeated Tanzania 3-0 in their final group game.
MOROCCO FACTS
· Morocco return after missing out on the 2023 edition. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals in their last appearance in 2021 despite not conceding a goal in their four games.
· They will appear in a tournament in North Africa for only the second time, along with 1997 when they were hosts.
· They will feature in the finals for a 13th time after first appearing in 1979. They were winners in 1997 and semi-finalists in 1987 and 2005.
· They are currently undefeated in their last nine games at the tournament in open play (W5 D4). Their last defeat in open play was a 4-0 loss to Egypt in their final group game in 2003.
· Morocco’s record in their first game reads P12 W5 D2 L5. They are undefeated in their opening game in the last four finals (W2 D2). They last lost their opening game in 1993, a 2-1 defeat to Ethiopia.
· They won their UNAF U-20 qualifying tournament. They won their first two games 2-1, against Egypt and Tunisia, before drawing 1-1 against Algeria. They won their final game 4-0 against Libya.
· They scored nine goals in qualifying with eight players scoring. Saad El Haddad was the only player to score more than one goal for them.
KENYA FACTS
· Kenya return for the first time since 1979 and will feature in a single tournament finals for the first time.
· Their previous participation in 1979 saw them lose their first round qualifier against Ethiopia, despite winning the first leg 2-0. They lost the second 4-0 and were defeated 4-2 on aggregate.
· They qualified for the 2025 edition by ending as runners-up at the 2024 CECAFA U-20 Championship. They lost 2-1 in the final despite taking the lead against hosts Tanzania.
· Their top scorers at the 2024 CECAFA U-20 Championship were Kelvin Wangaya and Aldrine Kibet, who both scored four goals.
· They scored 15 goals in the qualifying tournament and conceded just two. They kept four clean-sheets in their six games in the qualifiers.
· Kenya will be aiming to become the first East African team to win the TotalEnergies CAF U20 AFCON title.