In a thrilling match at the Nelson Mandela stadium in Algiers on Friday, Senegal staged a dramatic late comeback to win the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations title, beating Morocco 2-1. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal gave Morocco an early lead with a header in the 14th minute, but Senegal was awarded a penalty ten minutes before the final whistle, which Serigne Diouf scored. Just three minutes later, substitute Mamadou Savane put Senegal ahead with another goal. Morocco could not respond, and Senegal became Africa’s U17 champions for the first time.
Mamadou Aliou Diallo, a defender for U17 Senegal, expressed pride and happiness at achieving their target of winning the U17 competition. Senegal dominated Group A, winning all their matches against Congo, Algeria, and Somalia. They then defeated South Africa 5-0 in the quarterfinals and Burkina Faso 5-4 on penalties in the semifinals. Morocco finished top of their group, beating Nigeria 1-0, South Africa 2-0, and Zambia 2-1, before eliminating hosts Algeria 3-0 in the quarterfinals and needing penalties to beat Mali 6-5 in the semifinals.
