Defending champions of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN), Morocco, moved closer to retaining their title when they brushed aside the host Cameroon 4-0 on Wednesday night at the Limbe Omnisport Stadium.
First-half goals by Soufiane Bouftini and Rahimi put the North Africans in firm control of the match as they silenced the vociferous home fans.
Rahimi scored his second of the night and his tournament’s fifth before Mohammed Ali Bemammer wrapped up the emphatic victory for the title holders.
Morocco’s Atlas Lions coach, Houcine Ammouta said Morocco wants to re-write history by becoming the first team to retain the CHAN title.
“There is no team that has retained the CHAN title. We want to become the first team to achieve this and we remain positive taking one step at a time.
“We are very motivated to achieve this objective that we set before coming for the competition.
“More than half of the players that won the 2018 CHAN title are not with us and many with the team now don’t have the experience”.
The Atlas Lions have scored a record 13 goals in their five matches played at the tournament so far and conceded three. They started with a 1-0 victory against Togo before being held to a goalless draw against Rwanda.
The Atlas Lions defeated the Cranes of Uganda 5-2 in their last group game before seeing off Zambia 3-1 at the quarter-final stage. Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi is also the current leading scorer in the tournament with 5 goals.
However, Cameroon coach, Ndtoungou Mpile Martin, has admitted that his charges failed to handle Morocco in the semi-final clash.
According to him, although his team started well against the strong Moroccon side, his players made several individual mistakes that gave Morocco a lot of possession and dominance.
The Indomitable Lions coach further explained that when the team conceded two quick goals, many of his players lost their mental strength.
“We failed against Morocco. We played against a strong and well-coordinated team of Morocco that made things hard for my team.
“We tried our best, but unfortunately we could not replicate the kind of performance that saw us fight to beat DR Congo at the quarter-final”.
The result ensured that Morocco will now face the Eagles of Mali in the final at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde on Sunday as they chase their second title in the competition.
Ahead of the final against Mali on Sunday, Moroccan Coach Ammouta said he expects a very tough encounter because any team that gets to a final should never be underrated.
“We know what strategies to use when facing Mali and we expect a very tough match”.
The Eagles will be hunting for their first CHAN title having reached the final of the 2016 edition as they sealed their place in the final after winning 5-4 in a penalty shootout to eliminate their neighbors, Guinea.
The match between the arch-rivals ended goalless after extra time and it was substituted Mamadou Coulibaly who decided the first semi-final tie at the Japoma Stadium in Douala on Wednesday with the final kick in the shootout.
Guinea will play Cameroon in the third-place playoff at the Reunification Stadium in Douala on Saturday.
READ ALSO: CHAN semi-finals: Host Cameroon vows to stop holders Morocco
