Morocco’s U-23 Team Fails to Qualify for 2019 AFCON and Tokyo Olympics

The national U-23 selection was eliminated on Tuesday, September 10, in Bamako during the match counting for the U-23 AFCON qualifiers. This defeat comes after the draw conceded on Saturday, September 7 (1-1) against Mali, in the return match of the 3rd and final round.

The Lionceaux were unable to impress the Malian Eagles at home. They are therefore eliminated from the competition and will no longer be able to participate in the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, nor in the Tokyo Olympics.

For this return match, Morocco was deprived of four of its key players in the Olympic selection. Injured in the first leg, Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), Anass Ouahim (VfL Osnabrück, Germany), Zakaria El Wardi and Mohammed Douik (Raja) were unavailable for the return match. The squad fielded on Tuesday in Mali suffered greatly from these absences.

Patrice Beaumelle’s position is now on an ejector seat after this double underperformance. The coach of the Olympic team is thus playing his maintenance at the head of this selection, in view of the provisions of the contract signed with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).