The Atlas Lions of Morocco will open their 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations campaign on Monday in a Banana skin fixture against the Black Stars of Ghana at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé.
Moroccans have a quite decent squad going into the AFCON and can boast of high-profile names such as Romain Saiss, Achraf Hakimi, Sofiane Amrabat, Munir El Haddadi, and Ayoub El Kaabi. But Ghana, led by Thomas Partey and André Ayew, can easily complicate the Moroccans’ plans and even go on a promising streak.
For the first time in years, four-time champions, Black Stars are logging into an AFCON competition not being tagged as one of the favorites despite coach Milo having the likes of Daniel Amartey, Thomas Partey, silky winger – Kamaldeen Suleman, and the dependable Andre Ayew in his squad.
Apart from winning the AFCON four times in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982, the Black Stars has the most lost finals in the competition [5x] having lost the finals of 1968, 1970, 1992, 2010 and 2015.
The Atlas Lions are favorite on paper, but the Black Stars have got what it takes to surprise Morocco.
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