Morocco vs Ecuador Ends 1-1, Atlas Lions Snatch Late Draw
African giants Morocco snatched a 1-1 draw against Ecuador in a highly thrilling match. The draw came in an international friendly at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium on Friday. The match between two teams of equal strength kicked off at a frenetic tempo, with both relentlessly pressing forward like waves upon the shore. Despite the continuous attack and a fierce attacking mindset, the lack of accuracy in the final third kept the score even, ending the first half in a goalless draw.
The goal drought didn’t last; soon after the first-half break, Ecuador took the lead with John Yeboah scoring for the Latin American powerhouse. After continuous attacks, the AFCON 2025 champions had to wait until the last moment to secure a draw. After Senegal was stripped of the title, Morocco was declared Africa Cup of Nations champion, following the Confederation of African Football’s decision on Tuesday to uphold an appeal over the final result.
The match commentary summarized that Morocco had a chance to equalize in the 59th minute after being awarded a penalty when Neil El Aynaoui was brought down in the box, but his effort was saved by the Ecuadorian goalkeeper. It added that although Rabii Hrimat converted the rebound, the goal was disallowed for offside. It further stated that Morocco eventually equalized in the 88th minute, when El Aynaoui headed home a late goal to secure the draw. Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after the 1–1 draw against Ecuador that he was very happy to have played against a big team like Ecuador, adding that they had known it would be a difficult and physical match.
Morocco, generally known as the Atlas Lions, will face the Paraguay national football team in another friendly on March 31. Ecuador’s next fixture will be against European powerhouse the Netherlands.
Morocco Was Crowned Afcon Champions After Caf Overturned the Result—Rising Criticism
The clash with Ecuador marked Morocco’s first outing as newly crowned AFCON champions. The Atlas Lions have been declared the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations winners after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) overturned the result after Senegal’s controversial walk-off in the final. The Confédération Africaine de Football stated in its press release that its Appeal Board had decided, in application of Article 84 of the AFCON regulations, to declare the Senegal national team as having forfeited the final match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with the result recorded as 3–0 in favor of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football.
Following the CAF decision, Senegal appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reverse the crowning of Morocco. Al Jazeera reported yesterday that Juan de Dios Crespo Perez, representing Senegal’s ruling body, said at a news conference that the decision could not be considered a true sporting justice ruling, describing it as crude, absurd, and irrational, and alleging that it openly violated the laws of the game and the principle that refereeing decisions are final.
It further reported that Abdoulaye Fall, president of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), stated that the federation rejected what he described as an administrative injustice and affirmed that they would pursue both moral and legal action.
