In the early minutes, Eliesse Ben Seghir stood out with a superb technical maneuver along the corner flag, managing to keep the ball before passing it to Soufiane Rahimi, whose attempt went over the Nigerien goal. However, the Atlas Lions quickly found themselves in difficulty against a well-organized and enterprising Niger team. In just eight minutes, Badou Zaki’s men created two dangerous chances, putting pressure on the Moroccan defense.
Morocco nearly opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a magnificent shot from Nayef Aguerd from outside the box. The ball beat Mahamadou Tanja but unfortunately hit the post. A little later, a nice combination between Rahimi and Ben Seghir allowed the young Monaco player to take a shot, but the Nigerien defense was well-positioned and blocked his effort. Led by an experienced coach, Niger was able to impose its rhythm and create serious problems for the Moroccans, who struggled to develop their game.
The Atlas Lions tried to respond at the end of the first half, particularly with a header from Youssef En-Nesyri in the 39th minute, which was well saved by the Nigerien goalkeeper. Two minutes later, Achraf Hakimi found Rahimi with a deep pass, who then served En-Nesyri, but the Mena defense intervened just in time. Just before the break, Niger once again worried Yassine Bounou with a well-placed free kick, but the attempt missed the target. It was a challenging first half for Morocco, which was troubled by a combative opponent well-structured under Badou Zaki’s leadership.
