MATCH FACTS: Morocco, Nigeria in heavyweight clash in Group B

Two decades after their first and only previous encounter at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco and Nigeria will face off once again in their second Group B match in Cairo on Sunday (kick-off 21:00 local time / 18:00 GMT).

The two teams last met in the semi-finals of the 2005 tournament, playing to a thrilling 2-2 draw before Nigeria triumphed 5-3 in a penalty shootout.

In that match, Mouhssine Iajour gave Morocco an early lead in the 11th minute. Solomon Okoronkwo equalized for Nigeria in the 53rd minute, but Iajour struck again in the 101st minute.

Victor Obinna then leveled the score for Nigeria in the 114th minute, forcing penalties where Nigeria ultimately emerged victorious.

MOROCCO FACTS
·      Morocco began this year’s tournament with an impressive 3-2 comeback win against Kenya. That result extended their unbeaten run in open play at the TotalEnergies CAF U20 AFCON finals to 10 matches (W5 D5), with their last defeat coming in the group stage of the 2003 tournament, a 4-0 loss to Egypt.

·      They are also unbeaten in their last seven group-stage matches at the finals (W5 D2).

·      The five-goal thriller against Kenya was the first time Morocco had been involved in such a high-scoring game at the finals since their 4-1 loss to Egypt in 1997.

·      Historically, Morocco have never started a group-stage tournament with two consecutive wins. On both previous occasions when they won their opening match – against Lesotho in 2005 and Gambia in 2021 – they failed to win the second, drawing 2-2 with Egypt and 0-0 with Ghana, respectively.

·      Since 1993, when group stages became standard, Morocco's record in their second group game is: Played 5, Won 1, Drawn 2, Lost 2. Their only win in that span came in 1997 on home soil, a 2-0 victory over Sudan.

·      They have drawn their second match in each of their last two appearances (2005 and 2021) and lost in 1993 (4-1 to Egypt) and 2003 (1-0 to Côte d’Ivoire).

·      In their win over Kenya, Morocco recorded nine shots on target – the most of any team in the first round of matches.

·      Ismaël Baouf completed 69 passes, the most by any player in that game. Saad El Haddad had a perfect tackle success rate, winning all six of his challenges.

·      Yassir Zabiri scored twice from three shots on target, while Reda Laalaoui netted the game-winner in the 87th minute with his only shot on target.

NIGERIA FACTS
·      Nigeria will be playing their 99th match at the TotalEnergies CAF U20 AFCON and are seeking their 57th win.

·      They started their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia, courtesy of Auwal Ibrahim's goal in the 38th minute.

·      The last time Nigeria began the tournament with back-to-back wins was in 2015, when they defeated Senegal 3-1 and Congo 4-1. They also achieved this feat in 1999 and 2005.

·      Since 1993, Nigeria’s record in their second group match stands at: Played 12, Won 7, Drawn 2, Lost 3.

·      They are unbeaten in their last four second group games (W3 D1), with their last defeat coming in 2011 - a 1-0 loss to Cameroon. Their most dominant second-game win came in 1999, a 5-0 thrashing of Malawi.

·      In their win over Tunisia, Nigeria attempted 399 passes. Divine Oliseh was involved in 19 duels, more than any other Nigerian player.

·      Both Oliseh and Caleb Ochedikwu won 11 duels each, the most in the match. Emmanuel Chukwu led the game with eight clearances.