MATCH FACTS: Hosts Morocco meet Mali in TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations final
Morocco and Mali are meeting for the second time at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations, having last met in the semi-finals of the 2023 edition where the game ended 0-0 before Morocco prevailed 6-5 on penalties.
Morocco are searching for their first title in this age-group and featuring in their second final, while Mali are looking for their third title in their fourth final.
The other former champions are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.
Should Morocco win they will become the 10th different team to lift the trophy.
Morocco have had the best defence en-route to the final, conceding just a single goal, and have kept four clean-sheets. Mali have conceded six goals and kept just two clean-sheets.
This is the fourth time a North African team are featuring in the final. Morocco are the first North African side to feature in multiple deciders. Previously, Algeria in 2009, Egypt before them in 1997 and Morocco themselves in 2023 reached the final.
Victory for Morocco will see them become the second North African team to win the title along with Egypt, who did so in 1997.
No region has had more finalists than West Africa with 10 different nations having reached the decider – Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Victory for Mali will see a West African nation win a 12th title. The only time the trophy has not been won by a team from the region was Cameroon in 2003 and 2019, and Egypt in 1997. A West African team has always featured in the final.
This is the fourth time North and West African teams meet in the decider. Egypt defeated Mali 1-0 in 1997, Gambia beat Algeria 3-1 in 2009 and Senegal won 2-1 against Morocco in 2023.
Of the last nine winners, eight have been West African teams. The only title in this time not won by a team from the region was Cameroon in 2019.
In the 14 previous finals, we have had two decided on penalties. In the 2013 decider Cote d'Ivoire overcame Nigeria 5-4 on spot kicks after a 1-1 draw. While in 2019, Cameroon and Guinea ended 0-0 before the Indomitable Cubs won 5-3 on penalties.
Cameroon's penalty shoot-out win over Guinea in 2019 is the only time that a final has ended 0-0.
The highest scoring finals have all produced four goals. They are 3-1 wins for Ghana over Nigeria in 1995 and Guinea in 1999, while Gambia overcame Algeria in 2009.
The biggest margin of victory for any team in the final was Nigeria's 3-0 triumph over Burkina Faso in 2001.
Of the previous 14 finals, seven have seen the winning team victorious by a single goal with five of those games ending 1-0 and two finishing 2-1.
Morocco U-17 coach Nabil Baha scored Morocco's fourth goal in a 4-0 win against Mali in the semi-finals of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
Between the two finalists, Morocco have a conversion rate of 27.5% while Mali's conversion rate is 15%.
Mali have managed to completed 1,653 passes with an accuracy of 78.42%, while Morocco have completed 1,449 passes with an accuracy of 78.45%.
MOROCCO FACTS
· Morocco are featuring in their second successive final. They join Burkina Faso (1999 & 2001) and Mali (2015 & 2017) as having reached back-to-back finals.
· The only team to have previously lost in back-to-back finals was Burkina Faso, going down 3-1 to Ghana (1999) and 3-0 to Nigeria (2001).
· Defeat for Morocco will see them join Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria as teams who have lost in two finals.
· Morocco are the fifth host nation to reach the final along with Gambia in 2005, Togo in 2007, Algeria in 2009 and Rwanda in 2011.
· When the hosts have contested the final previously they have lost three times. The only team that has managed to win the title at home was Gambia in 2005.
· The last three hosts to have reached the final have all lost – Togo in 2007, Algeria in 2009 and Rwanda in 2011.
· Morocco's penalty shoot-out record reads W2 L1. In 2013 they lost the third-place play-off game against Tunisia 11-10 on spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw. In their 2023 semi-final the game ended 0-0 against Mali before they won 6-5 in the shoot-out. At the current finals they managed to defeat Cote d'Ivoire 4-3 in the last-4 after the game ended 0-0.
· Morocco goalkeeper Chouaib Bellaarouch has kept four clean-sheets in five games. He has conceded just a single goal, the fewest by any goalkeeper whose team has reached at least the semi-finals.
MALI FACTS
· Mali are featuring in their 46th game at the finals – no team has featured in as many games as they have.
· Mali are featuring in their fourth final along with 1997, 2015 and 2017.
· Victory for Mali will see them win their third title along with previous wins in 2015 and 2017. They will become the first team to win the title three times.
· Mali are the third team along with Ghana and Nigeria to feature in four finals. All three teams have so far won two titles.
· Regardless of the result, Mali will finish in the top three for a seventh time. No team will have more top three finishes than them. Mali will finish in the top two for a fourth time.
· In their previous finals, Mali lost 1-0 to Egypt in 1997, won 2-0 against South Africa in 2015 and defeated Ghana 1-0 in 2017.
· Mali meets a host nation in the final for the first time.
· This is Mali's second final against a North African team after they lost to Egypt in 1997.
· Mali are facing a tournament host for the fourth time their record reading P3 W2 L1. This will be a first knockout encounter.
· Previously against tournament hosts, Mali won against Botswana in 1997 in the group stages 2-1, and beat Seychelles 8-0 in the pool phase in 2001. They lost their last meeting against a host, going down 3-2 to Gambia in the group stages in 2005.
· Mali have lost just two games in open play in their last 20 at the finals, against the Cote d'Ivoire at the current finals and Burkina Faso in the play-off for third in 2023 (W13 D5).
· Mali have been involved in four penalty shoot-outs at the finals previously (W2 L2).
· Mali have conceded six goals at the current finals, the most since letting in seven in 2005 when they were eliminated at the group stages.
· Mali have scored nine goals at the current finals, the same number of goals they scored in 2015 and 2017 when winning the title. They only scored more goals in 2001 when finishing third (11).
· Ndjicoura Bomba is Mali's top scorer at the current finals with three goals, he has also made two assists and has five goal contributions for them.
· Mali's Soumaila Fane scored and made an assist in their 2-0 win against Burkina Faso in the Semi-final, it was the second time in the tournament that he did so. He also scored and assisted a goal in their 2-0 win over Central African Republic in the group stages.
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