| Goals | Goals |
|---|---|
| 10. Younes Belhanda (79’) |
First points for Morocco
Issoufou Boubacar of Niger and Abdelfettah Boukhriss of Morocco
Younes Belhanda scored the lone goal 11 minutes from time.
Both sides had already exited the tournament with Gabon and Tunisia advancing to the quarterfinals from this group.
Morocco led the ball possession stakes early on and Maroune Chamakh was proving to be a nuisance for Niger to handle.
But there were not many scoring chances early in the game. In the 35th minute, Niger goalkeeper Kasaaly Daouda did very well to deny El Kaddouri in a one-on-one situation.
And a bit earlier, Boubacar Talatou had forced Mohamed Amsif into action with a long range attempt.
Minutes later, Moussa Maazou rattled the bar with a powerful volley from just inside the area after taking the ball down on his chest.
But Niger could not muster any other scoring chances in the first half.
Niger ‘keeper Daouda did brilliantly to keep out Mbark Boussoufa in a one-on-one situation in the second half, highlighting his dominance in this tie.
He was called into action again in the 70th minute and this time he collected Boussoufa's floated cross from the left.
But in the 78th minute, the Atlas Lions finally broke through when Belhanda fired first-time into the roof of the net after Chamakh’s supply.
There was a concern that Chamakh may have been off side, but the goal stood and it would in the end give Morocco the victory.
Man of the match Daouda made another great stop to keep out a powerful Boussoufa attempt when Morocco broke out in the 85th minute.
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