Morocco loses the Women's Africa Cup of Nations final in a dramatic manner.

Morocco team

 

Morocco loses the Women's Africa Cup of Nations final in a dramatic manner.

Spanish coach Jorge Vilda, head coach of the Moroccan women's national team, expressed his great pride in his players' performance during the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, despite the painful loss to Nigeria in the final.

Vilda said after the match, "We played in the final for the second time in a row, and we played against a team with extensive experience in continental tournaments. However, we showed strong character and high spirits. The players scored two goals in the first half and were mentally and technically present for most of the match."

Jorge Vilda emphasized that psychological preparation was essential to the team's progress, adding that the players did not play with an inferiority complex against Nigeria, but rather faced their opponents with equal footing.

He pointed out that the tournament revealed new young players who will form the core of the future: "This edition presented us with young faces that impressed everyone, and this is a real bright spot. It is true that we lost the title, but we won a team with a bright future. We are still at the beginning of the road, and Morocco has all the ingredients to rise to the top soon."

Back to the match: Nigeria extended their record by winning the 13th edition of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Morocco in the final, winning the continental title for the tenth time in their history, on Saturday evening.

Morocco finished the first half with a two-goal lead, scored by Ghizlane Chebak and Sanaa Messaoudi in the 12th and 24th minutes of the match, which was played in front of a large crowd at the 21,000-seat Olympic Stadium in Rabat.

Nigeria turned the tables on their opponents in the second half, reducing the deficit with a penalty kick from Esther Okorinko in the 64th minute. They equalized with a goal from Folashade Florence in the 71st minute, before snatching the victory with a late goal from Jennifer Echiegini in the 88th minute.

Morocco squandered a valuable opportunity to win the title for the first time in their history, failing to capitalize on the home advantage and losing the final for the second consecutive time, having lost to South Africa in the final of the previous edition.

Nigeria, led by their local coach, Justin Madugu, moved clear at the top of the list of most successful teams, maintaining their strong record of undefeated in ten finals in their history, adding a tenth title since 1998.