Morocco drew 0-0 with Senegal in Rabat, won Group A at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and reached the quarter-finals.
They did it after twenty-eight attempts.
The hosts generated 2.41 expected goals. Senegal generated 0.31. Morocco touched the ball forty-seven times inside the Senegal box; Senegal managed six inside Morocco’s.
Neither side scored.
Yasmin Mrabet had the match at her feet in the 69th minute and missed the penalty. Three minutes later she was substituted.
The second half was even more one-sided: 1.76 expected goals for Morocco to 0.16, sixteen attempts to four and thirty-four touches in the opposition box to five. Senegal did not have a single shot on target after the interval.
They held on with their bodies. They made fifty clearances to seventeen and their goalkeeper, Adji Ndiaye, made seven saves and prevented 1.45 goals according to the shot model. She is nineteen.
And they hit the woodwork twice, in a match in which they had nine attempts.
Morocco took nine corners and scored from none of them. They put in thirty-three crosses and found a team-mate with five.
They finish top on seven points without conceding a goal in the group. They are the only side in the tournament yet to concede one.
Senegal leave on four points. They had reached the quarter-finals in each of the two previous editions and both times went out on penalties without losing the match; this time they have not got past the group stage.
Morocco are hosting their third consecutive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and are the first country to stage three in a row. They have played two finals, both at home, and lost both.
