Morocco has advanced to the FIFA U-17 World Cup quarterfinals in Indonesia after defeating Iran on Tuesday.
The North Africans won a penalty shootout against Iran after striking a key equalizer in stoppage time.
According to Naija News, Iran’s Hesam Nafari failed to convert from the penalty spot, while Morocco’s goalkeeper Taha Benrhozil produced a spectacular save from Kasra Taheri’s twice-taken kick.
This set the stage for Fouad Zahouani to win the Atlas Cubs’ victory by confidently converting his penalty, resulting in ecstatic celebrations.
Morocco has joined the respected team group in the quarterfinals, including powerhouses like as Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Mali.
Morocco will meet Mali in Surakarta on Saturday.
2023 AFCON: John Enoh Urges Nigerians to Support the Super Eagles
Meanwhile, John Enoh, the minister of sports development, has asked football fans to rally behind the Super Eagles as they prepare to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast in 2024.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles won their first AFCON on home soil in 1980, followed by gold medals in Tunisia in 1994 and South Africa in 2013.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) launched a #Letsdoitagain campaign to encourage the Eagles to compete for a fourth AFCON title in 2023, which is set to begin on January 13 and end on February 11, 2024.
On Monday, the sports minister launched the campaign in Abuja, urging Nigerians to support the Eagles during the competition.
“I’d like to thank the NFF for putting this together,” the minister stated. This is critically important. Let us do it again; we can and will do it again. That is all it takes. It is quite significant.
“The goal of this campaign is to rally all 200 million Nigerians behind the Super Eagles as they compete for the AFCON in Ivory Coast.” We have a great football heritage that will help make our campaign unlike any other. Nigeria has a rich football history, and we can weave a narrative around our players one by one.”
During the AFCON qualifiers, the Super Eagles were in top form. After winning Group A with 15 points, they were among the first countries to qualify for the tournament.
However, in their most recent encounter, the Eagles drew 1-1 against Lesotho and 1-1 against Zimbabwe in their first two 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
