In Rabat, Morocco defeated Nigeria in a penalty shootout to advance to the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final, but they struggled after holding a two-player lead throughout the first 50 minutes.
The host nation won the penalty shootout when Nigerian striker Ifeoma Onumonu had her attempt saved by home goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi after the semifinal game ended 1-1 after extra time.
Morocco will now compete against South Africa for the gold medal on Saturday, while Nigeria will play Zambia for the bronze on Friday. Both teams are still looking for their first competitive victory.
Although they could have had few complaints about either of the two red cards Nigeria received in their semifinal, they should have been eliminated long before penalties because Morocco missed multiple clear-cut scoring opportunities.
Nigeria stayed in the Moroccan half and mounted wave after wave of attacks, but their final ball let them down, and the first half finished scoreless.
The home defense made a mistake and dallied on the ball, giving Christy Ucheibe the greatest opportunity when Er-Rmichi rushed her clearing.
With the empty net gaping, she had time to choose her position, but her shot missed the mark for a dismal result.
Minutes into the second half, Halimatu Ayinde’s brutal stamp on Rosella Ayane’s ankle handed Nigeria a blow; the only surprise, though, was that the decision had to be made by the video assistant referee.
Following that, Morocco had a shot cleared off the line as Nigeria appeared to be shaken.
But in somewhat humorous circumstances, the Super Falcons took the lead on the minute mark.
Onumonu headed Rasheedat Ajibade’s cross towards the direction of goal, but the ball bounced off the post. Uchenna Kanu appeared poised to seize possession of the loose ball, but Moroccan defender Hanane At El Haj was only able to kick it into teammate Yasmin Mrabet’s face, causing the ball to find its way into the goal.
However, that advantage only lasted for four minutes until the home team struck back, sending the fans into a frenzy.
Sanaâ Mssoudy scored after Ayane made a break down the right side and her low cross was not properly received by Nigerian goalie Chiamaka Nnadozie.
Sanaâ Mssoudy scored after Ayane made a break down the right side and her low cross was not properly received by Nigerian goalie Chiamaka Nnadozie.
With 20 minutes left, Nigeria lost another player to a red card; this time, Ajibade was the culpable party, and her careless tackle merited the punishment.
When she moved past a few defenders and just had Nnadozie to beat in the final seconds of the game, captain Ghizlane Chebbak should have won it for her team, but she blasted wide.
Morocco had multiple chances to win the game, but their finishing was poor. In fact, Nigeria came the closest when Gift Monday’s thundering strike in the second half of extra-time rocked the crossbar.
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