Senegal have defeated Morocco 2-1 in the final of the 2023 Under17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Algiers, Algeria.
This is the first time Senegal have won the tournament and the win was dramatic.
The final on Friday night was tense. Morocco’s captain, Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal scored the first goal in the 14th minute of the match.
But Senegal’s Serigne Diouf equalised in the 79th minute through a VAR awarded penalty. Just four minutes later, Mamadou Sawane scored the second goal that guaranteed Senegal the trophy.
The president of Senegal Macky Sall has congratulated the U17 national team players and their managers. He described the victory as a ''heroic journey.''
In a tweet, Mr Sall said the country is ''proud'' of the young footballers.
Morocco had displayed remarkable performance throughout the tournament. During the group stage they emerged as the leaders of Group B thrashing Nigeria 1-0 and South Africa 2-0.
Before reaching the final, Senegal had triumphed in the semi-final against Burkina Faso 5 - 4 in a tension-soaked penalty shoot-out at the 19 May 1956 Stadium in Annaba, Algeria.
It was a similar fate for Morocco, who had to go through a penalty shoot-out, scoring 6-5 against Mali to progress to the final.
This is the first time the Senegalese U17 team have reached the final but Morocco had won the tournament four times.
