Morocco won the just ended 2024 CHAN tournament
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shares its impressions of the prestigious continental tournament.
More than just football
Oussama Lamlioui’s fantastic shot (it was the sixth goal of the tournament’s top scorer) from almost 40 meters gave Morocco a 3-2 victory over Madagascar in the 2024 CHAN final.
The competition had a lot of memorable moments, and the knockout stage was particularly intense: 5 of the 8 matches went beyond regular time, with victories decided by a single goal or a penalty shootout.
Equally important were developments beyond the football pitch – for the first time in history, three countries jointly hosted the CHAN finals. For Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, which will also host the AFCON 2027 together, this tournament should provide a boost in many areas: infrastructure, economy, society and reputation.
Roadmap for the future
It’s difficult to give a definitive assessment of the performances of the host countries, who played on their home turf and were eliminated in the quarter-finals, given that Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda had never made it into the CHAN top 8 before.
However, the hosts could have hoped for more – for example, Kenya beat the eventual champions in the group stage, and Tanzania defeated the eventual runners-up. In any case, this tournament will help the teams better prepare for the AFCON on home soil.
Dynasty
The Morocco A’ national team has won three of the last four CHAN tournaments and is now the most successful team in the competition. The Atlas Lions have been led by three different coaches, which confirms the systematic approach to football in this country. Morocco has a state program that invests in both player development and manager training.
Tarik Sektioui previously won bronze at the Paris Olympics, the country’s first football medal in the history of the competition. The coach gained the necessary experience, which enabled him to make the right decisions after the defeat to Kenya.
Sektioui realized that pure class and even a well-structured game plan wouldn’t be enough – complete concentration and a strong will were needed. After that, the Moroccans won five out of six matches in regular time – only Senegal, the previous CHAN champions, took the game to a penalty shootout against the Atlas Lions. In both the semi-final and the final, Morocco achieved success despite conceding first.
Champions of hearts
Thousands of people and the country’s president himself welcomed the Madagascar national team home as heroes. Barea achieved the highest result in the history of national football, but even the 2024 CHAN final doesn’t seem to be the limit for Madagascar.
After all, this team finished third in the previous tournament and reached the AFCON quarter-finals in 2019.
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