U20 Africa Cup of Nations: Algeria seek vital advantage against Morocco

Algeria and Morocco meet in a north African derby on Wednesday with their hopes of reaching the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations already at stake.

The two sides face each other at the Suez Canal Stadium in Egypt in the third round of the UNAF U20 qualifying tournament, where only the top two of the five competing nations will secure places at the finals in Ghana.

Algeria have the stronger position after two matches. Hocine El-Orfi’s side drew 1-1 with Tunisia in their opening game before recovering in impressive fashion with a 3-0 victory against Libya.

That sequence of results has left the Greens top of the standings on four points. Victory over Morocco would take them to seven points and leave them within close reach of qualification, with their final fixture against Egypt scheduled for 6 October.

Morocco’s position is more precarious. Ludovic Batelli’s side were exempt from the opening round before being held to a goalless draw by Tunisia on Sunday.

A defeat would leave the Young Lions on one point before matches against Egypt and Libya. Qualification would still be mathematically possible with two games remaining, but their room for error would be significantly reduced.

Batelli will be looking for greater attacking efficiency after Morocco failed to score against Tunisia despite creating several promising opportunities.

Morocco nevertheless have a number of notable young players in their squad. Zyad Baha, Ilyes Belmokhtar and Taha Majni are based at OM, Monaco and Crystal Palace respectively.

Algeria also possess players capable of deciding the contest. Mohamed Seddik has scored in each of the first two rounds and the RC Lens winger will be one of the main threats to Morocco.

Captain Yanis Sellami, who plays for OM, and Yassine Aiche, who scored against Libya, are other key attacking options for the Algerians.

The match also brings together two national teams placing significant emphasis on their emerging talent. Algeria’s squad includes 11 expatriate players, alongside several footballers from Paradou, JSK and MCA.

Morocco, meanwhile, continue to attract attention after their recent performances across the youth categories.

But the immediate focus is the qualification table. In a short tournament, Algeria can take a major step towards the U20 Africa Cup of Nations with a win, while Morocco must prevent their neighbours from building an advantage that could prove difficult to overturn.