The Moroccan U-20 women’s team had a stumbling start in their first participation in the World Cup held in Colombia. The team began their journey with a painful 2-0 loss to Paraguay in a match that took place on Sunday/Monday night. Despite the Moroccan team having relative control over the game for long periods, they suffered from a lack of offensive effectiveness, preventing them from converting chances into goals.
Major mistakes from goalkeeper Fatima Zahra Jebraoui led to Morocco conceding both goals. The first goal came in the 37th minute due to a mistaken exit by the goalkeeper, which Fatima Acosta capitalized on to score in the empty net. The second goal was scored in the 57th minute following a wrong pass from the goalkeeper, leading to defensive confusion and a penalty kick successfully executed by Acosta after a VAR review.
Morocco’s chances of qualifying for the second round have significantly diminished following this defeat. The team faces a challenging task in the next match against the United States on Thursday, noting that the latter lost their first match 1-0 to Spain. Morocco’s final group stage match will be against the Spanish team, adding to the difficulty of the task.
The Moroccan team needs to correct defensive errors and improve offensive effectiveness to keep their hopes of qualifying alive, despite the tough challenge against strong group opponents. The upcoming matches will be crucial for the team’s fate in the tournament, requiring extra effort to overcome the effects of the first loss and compete for one of the qualification spots for the second round.
