Morocco secures its place in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Arab Cup after a narrow victory against Saudi Arabia (1-0)

DISCOVER MOROCCO
Doha – The Moroccan national under-23 team qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2025 Arab Football Cup, organized in Qatar, after its 1-0 victory against Saudi Arabia during the third day of group B, played this Monday at the stadium Lusail, The only goal of the match was scored by Karim El Barkawi in the 11th minute of the first half

Saudi Arabia benefited from a penalty in the 69th minute, but Abdallah Al Hamdan failed to convert this opportunity, allowing Morocco to maintain their advantage. Thanks to this success, Morocco finished at the top of group B with 7 points, followed by Saudi Arabia at 6 points, Oman third with 4 points, and Comoros bringing up the rear without any points

Morocco will face Syria next Thursday in a highly anticipated quarter-final, at the Khalifa International stadium from 5:30 p.m., Morocco time, The match began with a cautious approach from the Moroccan players, who fell back somewhat, struggling to get the ball out in the face of advanced pressure from the Saudi team

The latter almost opened the scoring in the 6th minute thanks to striker Mourad Al-Hussawi, whose shot hit the crossbar of Moroccan goalkeeper Mehdi Ben Abid. Morocco quickly responded by recovering the ball to launch an attack concluded by Karim El Barkawi, who took advantage of a decisive pass on the right side from his teammate Tarik Tissoudali (11th minute). After taking the lead, the Atlas Lions were able to contain the enthusiasm of the Saudis, who tried to come back to the score without success, thanks to a solid defense led by captain Harimat

Morocco occasionally exerted offensive pressure while neutralizing opposing attempts, concluding the first half with a score of 1-0. In the second period, Karim El Barkawi was dangerous with a shot that went just wide of the goal of Saudi goalkeeper Abdelrahman Al Sanabi (48th minute). To react, Saudi coach Hervé Renard made four simultaneous changes in the 61st minute

Despite the penalty obtained by Saudi Arabia, replacement striker Abdallah Al Hamdan was unable to convert it. Moroccan coach Sektoui made two substitutions in the 70th minute by bringing in Mohamed Mofid and Mahmoud Bentaik in place of El Barkawi and Zouhzouh, in order to strengthen the defense on the right and left sides. In the 85th minute, Ashraf Mahdoui replaced Karti in midfield to bring new momentum

In the final minutes, the Moroccans left control of the ball to the Saudis, while consolidating their defense. To secure the result, Sektoui replaced striker Tarik Tissoudali with defender Marouane El Wadni. More than 78,000 supporters attended this intense match, where the Atlas Lions valiantly defended their advantage to ensure their qualification against Syria, qualified the day before at the top of group A

This quarter-final will be played on the 11th. next December at the Khalifa International stadium in Al Rayyan. Elsewhere, in another group match, Oman beat Comoros 2-1 at Stadium 974 in Doha.