NAIROBI, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two-time winner Morocco faces Madagascar in the final of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) final in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya on Saturday.
The match will conclude the 19-team competition, which kicked off on Aug. 2.
Organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the CHAN is reserved for players who play in their domestic leagues and has grown in stature since its launch in 2009.
This will be its eighth final of the tournament, which was delayed from last year.
CHAN 2024 was being used by CAF as a test event for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations that will also be co-staged by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
And the teams vying for the trophy and the 3.5 million U.S. dollars winner's prize money could not be in sharper contrast.
The Atlas Lions, who beat holders Senegal on penalties in Uganda to book their place in the decider, come in as the overwhelming favorites to make history as the first nation to win three CHAN titles.
Moroccan coach Tarik Sektioui and his side have moved on from a shock 1-0 defeat to co-host Kenya in the group stages of this tournament to underline their supremacy as the most consistent team in the competition.
"It was a tough match against the defending champions, but the players showed composure in the key moments. We have fought hard to reach this stage, and now we want to win the trophy again," Sektioui said.
Morocco has won the two CHAN finals it has played in, a 4-0 demolition of Nigeria in 2018 as hosts and a 2-0 victory over Mali when they successfully defended the title in 2020 in Cameroon.
The Atlas Lions also boast of an imposing record in knockout fixtures of this competition and have scored in all nine of the games they have played from the quarterfinal to the final so far.
On the other side of the pitch will be the Barea, who made history as the first South African country and Island nation to make the CHAN finals.
Already, Madagascar has bettered its performance from the previous edition held in Algeria in 2022, where it won bronze on its first-ever appearance.
The Barea also became the 13th different nation to reach the final after it edged Sudan 1-0 after extra time despite playing with 10 men for 50 minutes in the semifinal in Dar es Salaam.
Having upset co-hosts Kenya on post-match penalties in the last eight, Madagascar coach Romuald Rakotondrabe could barely find words to describe his team's victory in Tanzania.
But he was cautious ahead of the Morocco final.
"I can't answer the question whether we can win the title. Beating Sudan doesn't mean we will win the title. We lost two players before the final, but despite that, we have several players, and we will find replacements. I hope there are players who can make a difference on the pitch in the final," Rakotondrabe added after the semifinal.
The Chinese-built and renovated 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani will be the venue of the final.
Organizers have confirmed all tickets have sold out, with the Madagascar government reportedly snapping up 25,000 of them amid reports it subsidized costs for Barea fans travelling for the showpiece. ■
微信扫描下方的二维码阅读本文
