Sodiq Ismail opened scoring for Nigeria in the 18^th minute after being set up by skipper Junior Nduka. Three minutes later, the captain made it two.

Isaac Saviour, who plays his club football for Rangers of Enugu put the icing on the cake with the third goal.

Ghana got a consolatory goal in the second half through substitute Amankona Stephen.

The first leg had ended goalless, so Nigeria qualify on a 3-1 goal aggregate.

After stopping Nigeria from qualifying for the last edition, this victory is a sweet revenge on the West African brothers.

Other teams that have qualified are Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal and DR Congo.

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FIFA member nations will this June select the kingdom or a Canada/Mexico/United States alliance to host the global football showpiece after Russia this year and Qatar in 2022.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first featuring 48 countries – up from the current 32 – and any serious slip-ups by Morocco in the 16-nation Chan would have sent damaging signals.

However, apart from the decades-old African problem of luring crowds to fixtures not involving the host nation, Morocco emerged with flying colours.

Morocco could argue that the crowd-pulling appeal of home-based Africans, however talented, cannot be compared with world superstars like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo.

“The organisation of this tournament has been exceptional,” Germany-born Rwanda coach Antoine Hey told AFP.

“Morocco has provided infrastructure that meets the highest international standards. I am extremely impressed.”

Libya goalkeeper and captain Mohamed Nashnush also hailed the organisation by Morocco, who are bidding a fifth time to host the World Cup.

“Morocco pulled out all the stops and the Libyan footballers, coaches and officials were very comfortable wherever they went in the country.

“The organisation and infrastructure were superb and I hope Morocco win the right to host the 2026 World Cup.”

Morocco national football federation head Fouzi Lekjaa, who is also a Confederation of African Football (CAF) vice-president, says his country has a compelling case.

“Since the first World Cup in 1930, Africa has organised the tournament only once,” he said, referring to the 2010 finals in South Africa.

Pre-Chan tournament favourites Morocco whipped 10-man Nigeria 4-0 to win the competition, which has full international status despite being restricted to home-based footballers.

Their six matches attracted near-capacity crowds to the 65 000-capacity Stade Mohammed V in commercial capital Casablanca.

However, apart from the group game between Nigeria and Libya in northern city Tangiers, matches not involving the host nation drew paltry crowds.
Central city Marrakech and Agadir in the south on the Atlantic coast were the other venues used during the 23-day tournament.

Cold northern hemisphere winter weather was one deterrent to Moroccans with many who did attend wearing clothing more familiar with Europe than Africa.

An encouraging sign, though, was the number of families who came to watch some of the best domestic football talent in Africa.

Matches kicked off at 1630 and 1930 local/GMT time and many crowds decreased noticeably after the first game as temperatures dropped significantly.

Weather will not be an issue should Morocco be awarded the 2026 World Cup as the tournament is traditionally staged during June and July – hot months in the kingdom.

Morocco has not officially named their proposed World Cup venues, but the four Chan stadiums are sure to be in the list.

At least one venue in capital city Rabat would certainly be included to host the World Cup in 2016.

Culled from supersport.com

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Few outside the north African kingdom had heard of the 24-year-old striker before the mid January kick-off of the biennial tournament restricted to footballers playing in their country of birth.

Now, most African football followers from Cairo to Cape Town know El Kaabi, the 1.82-metre goalmouth predator who has scored a record eight goals in a single edition of the CHAN.

Despite starting only two of three group games, the Moroccan equalled the five-goal benchmark set by Zambian Given Singuluma in the Ivory Coast nine years ago.

He then raised the bar by opening the scoring in a quarter-final victory over Namibia and bagged a brace as Morocco overcame Libya after extra time to reach the final.

His amazing haul came just a year after he scored 25 goals in 33 matches as Racing Casablanca won promotion to the first division.

Those scoring exploits caught the attention of top-flight outfit Renaissance Berkane, who signed El Kaabi and have been rewarded by 11 goals from him in 17 matches.

Before the fifth CHAN began, most of the talk around the Moroccan attack centred on Achraf Bencharki, the leading scorer for 2017 CAF Champions League winners Wydad Casablanca.

But Saudi Arabia-bound Bencharki, who joins Al Hilal after the CHAN, has been continually overshadowed by El Kaabi.

“Ayoub is the complete striker, a fantastic footballer,” Bencharki told AFP. “With him in the team, defeating Nigeria and winning the CHAN is a realistic goal.”

Midfielder Walid el Karti weighed in: “El Kaabi is such a humble footballer and a great team person. He remains grounded after individual feats, like his hat-trick against Guinea.”

Morocco and Nigeria met in a 2014 CHAN quarter-final with the west Africans overturning a three-goal half-time deficit to triumph 4-3 after extra time in South Africa.

Nigerian Rabiu Ali, at 37 the second oldest 2018 CHAN footballer, scored during that remarkable comeback and is a likely starter against Morocco at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.

His team-mates Anthony Okpotu and Gabriel Okechukwu could trouble the hosts with their huge physiques, pace and directness, which have already yielded two goals each.

Both finalists qualified with four victories and a draw and Nigeria appear capable of at least running Morocco close in a competition that has produced largely one-sided finals.

The Democratic Republic of Congo won the 2009 and 2016 title deciders by margins of two and three goals, and Tunisia triumphed by three goals in 2011.

Libya, the 2014 champions, were the exception, edging Ghana on penalties after a goalless final.

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Buhari’s congratulatory message is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.

The presidential aide said Buhari, who watched the match in his hotel room in Addis Ababa after a long day of meetings, which started at 8 a.m. and ended at 5.30 p.m., wished them “the very best for the upcoming matches’’.

NAN reports that Nigeria’s home-based Eagles known as CHAN Eagles scaled through to semi-finals with the win over Angola.

Anthony Okpotu came from behind at the 90th minute to keep hope alive with his equaliser, while Gabriel Okechukwu sealed the win at 109th minute.

Nigeria will now play Sudan in a semifinal encounter in Marrakech on Wednesday for a final ticket.

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The Nigerians are in their fifth appearance in the CHAN competition, but newcomers, Equatorial Guinea stand between them and a place in the knock out round in their final group game at Agadir, Morocco this evening. After a disappointing barren draw against Rwanda, the Eagles beat the defending champions, Libya 1-0 in their second group match to hit four points.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Sofoluwe said that the players must play a well-coordinated game because they are not playing under pressure unlike when they were in their first game against Rwanda.

He said: “Although Equatorial Guinea does not have any chance of qualifying from the group, but the Eagles must not relax until the match is won. And for them to be sure of topping the group, our boys should score as many goals as possible just in case Rwanda beat Libya.”

Sofoluwe also advised the player to make good use of their scoring chances.

Also speaking yesterday, coach of Nath Boys FC, Achievement Yunus, said he does not see Equatorial Guinea beating Nigeria, but advised the home-based Eagles not to give the opponent a chance to score.
A lone goal victory against Libya last Friday helped the Eagles to displace the table-toppers, and they now only need to avoid defeat against Equatorial Guinea today to progress from Group C.

Some sports analysts suggested yesterday that the best way for the Eagles may be to rest key players like Anthony Okpotu and Rabiu Ali to avoid picking up injuries like the one suffered by Ifeanyi Ifeanyi.

Meanwhile, despite crashing out of the championships, Equatorial Guinea Head Coach, Rodolfo Bodipo has ruled out doing Nigeria any favors in today’s final group C at the Le Grand Stade in Agadir.

Equatorial Guinea was eliminated on Friday following the 1-0 defeat to Rwanda at the Stade Ibn Batouta in Tangier. Speaking ahead of today’s match, Rodolfo said: “We have gained a lot of experience. Even as if we are eliminated, we will play hard against Nigeria.”

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