RABAT, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Morocco will aim to underline their standing as one of Africa’s dominant football nations and finally end a half-century of heartbreak when they take on Senegal in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
The north African country has been a powerful force on the continent's football stage for more than a decade, regularly winning competitions at all levels and becoming a hub with powerful political and financial influence.
But while their ascendancy has been evident in all sectors of Africa's most popular sport, their one weak spot has been the Cup of Nations where they have been heavily fancied in recent editions but flopped.
They will be hoping to finally reap rewards for their considerable investment, in players and facilities, some of which were recently upgraded and will be used when they co-host the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.
However, Senegal have the potential to be party spoilers with a formidable squad that has lost one of their last 34 internationals - to Brazil in London two months ago.
Sunday’s clash in Rabat is their third final appearance in the last four editions and they will have many key players with experience in their line-up, not least talisman Sadio Mane.
Morocco have enjoyed top ranking on the continent since becoming the first African country to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in 2022 and last year broke the record for the most successive wins by a national team, before stretching it to 19.
MOROCCO OVERCOME TENTATIVE START
But the country has previously won the African crown just once in 1976 and only appeared in one final since (2004) and that seemed to weigh heavily as they made a tentative start to the tournament last month.
They looked to have rid themselves of those nervy shackles, however, in their last two matches against Cameroon and Nigeria with an impressively aggressive and fast approach to the game.
They will also have enthusiastic support from the majority of the crowd at the Stade Moulay Abdellah, with the country swept up in footballing fervour.
“It’s a unique moment for us,” said captain Achraf Hakimi after their semi-final success in midweek.
“We’ve made history once again, this team deserves it. All Moroccans deserve it. We are very happy, but we haven’t finished the job yet.”
How Senegal cope with the pressure, especially as they have largely sauntered through their six matches, will be key but their coach Pape Bouna Thiaw said: "We wanted to play in this final, now we have to go and win it."
(Editing by Toby Davis)
