Morocco sauntered to a first African Nations Championship title with a 4-0 mauling of Nigeria in Casablanca.
Zakaria Hadraf opened the scoring on the brink of half-time, after Banoune and Jbira had combined neatly on the left flank. The Atlas Lions had dominated the first half, with star-man Ayoub El Kaabi grazing the crossbar with a bicycle kick.
Nigeria were inferior, and the disadvantage became numerical two minutes in to the second half, when 18-year-old Moses Eneji collected a second booking for an overenthusiastic tackle.
Morocco took full advantage. Ismael El Haddadi tormented the stretched Nigerian defence, but it was El Karti who doubled the lead with half an hour remaining. Three minutes later, Hadraf added his second and Morocco’s third.
El Kaabi applied a layer of gloss to the victory in the 73rd minute, pouncing on a loose ball to score his ninth goal of the tournament. It was a fitting end from the player who has shone brighter than any other in Morocco.
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