6 Things We Learned From the 2023 CAF U23 AFCON : The 2023 CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations was completed on Saturday with host Morocco defeating North African counterparts Egypt by 2-1 after extra time to win the ultimate trophy. 

The Moroccans largely deserve their success thanks to the serious demonstration of talent , flair and intensity throughout the tournament. Don’t forget they humiliated the Black Meteors by 5-1.

GhanaSportsMarket.com takes a look at the SIX (6) most important things we learned from the tournament.

1.Morocco 4th winner of the 4th edition of the competition. 

The U23 AFCON has a new winner. After Gabon, Nigeria and Egypt, Morocco wins this trophy for the first time in its history. After failing in 2011 at home, the Atlas Lions won their first U23 trophy at the Moulay Abdallah complex in Rabat.

They overcame Egypt (2-1 after extra time). But how difficult it was for the hosts. The Moroccans took an early goal in the 10th minute. Mahmoud Hassan opens the scoring for Egypt. But, the striker receives a red card, leaving his teammates in numerical disadvantage.

Despite the defensive solidity of the Egyptians, the Moroccans manage to equalize in the 37th minute thanks to a goal by Begraoui. Targhalline offered the title to the Cherifian Kingdom in additional time of the first round of extra time (105 + 3).

2.The Black Meteors were inferior against the best teams 

When one looks at the quality and intensity of football shown by teams such as Morocco , Egypt , Mali and even Guinea , it was obvious that to see that Ibrahim Tanko’s team lacked many things.

In terms of team organization , character and identity , the Ghana Olympic football team suffered as they fail to compete against the very best teams of the competition.

3.Morocco, best attack, Abde Ezzalzouli, impeccable

Sacred, the Atlas Cubs had the best attack of the tournament with 12 goals netted 5 matches. They are far ahead of the second best attack, Mali, which had 7 goals.

If the Moroccans have been so clinical in front of goal, it is partly thanks to Abde Ezzalzouli. The Barcelona player outclassed the competition. He finished top scorer with 3 strikes and best assist maker of the tournament. As a good captain, the 21-year-old striker was the spearhead of this Moroccan team in this competition.

4.Egypt, the first country to play two consecutive finals

Respect to Egypt. In four editions, the U23 AFCON has had four different winners. Egypt was about to achieve a feat never achieved by any team but Morocco stopped them.

If the Egyptian team did not succeed, they still have the honor of playing two finals in a row which is a first in this competition. Morocco is the other team to have two finals, in 2011 and 2023. Egypt will also play in the Olympics for the second time in a row.

5.Egypt , best defense

The cliché that the best defence wins championship was not entirely correct at this tournament. Egypt conceded just one goal in 5 games and that came in the final match against Morocco on Saturday. The Atlas Lions on the other conceded 5 goals but their prolific attack (12 goals) provided them with some sort of compensation , going on to win the title.

6.Morocco and Egypt are masters of African football 

Alongside Senegal , the North African duo are witnessing a successful period.

Al Ahly of Egypt won the recent CAF Champions League final , WAC of Morocco have won two Champions League titles in the last five years and the Atlas Lions rewrote African football history at the FIFA World Cup , becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals of the Mundiale during the Qatar 2022 edition.

On the current 5-Year ranking of CAF  , Morocco has 118 points as table toppers. They are followed by Egypt who have 114 points , Algeria are third with 94 points and South Africa have 78.5.