Football: Morocco qualifies for Olympic games
Morocco, Sports, 3/27/2000

Two goals scored in the first half were enough for Morocco to defeat Cote D'Ivoire and move to the final rounds of the football tournament of the Olympic games, due next summer in Australia.

While Egypt was leading Tunisia 3-0 at home, Morocco had only one choice: to beat Cote d'Ivoire to book ticket for Sydney. Backed by an up-roaring audience of 15,000 fans in the small Pere Jego stadium of Casablanca, the Moroccans waged all-out attacks to score.

But, the lethal elephants of Cote D'Ivoire were no easy prey and they proved it, when they scored first after a swift counter-attack.

The Moroccans, coached by local Said Al-Khaidar, demonstrated that they are a team with a tough spirit. The Ivoirian goal spurred the home side to wage more attacks to equalize. And they did, when Khattari seized a ball wasted by the Ivoirian defense and sent it home.

A few minutes before the end of the first half, Adil Kouar of French Nancy club scored a victorious goal, when he eluded the whole Ivoirian defense and sent a 22-meter shot to the net.

The game slackened in the second half. The Ivoirian side lost self-control and became very physical, especially when the referee sent off one of their defenders for a violent tackle on a Moroccan striker.

This is Morocco's fourth qualification for the football tournament of the Olympic games, after 1964, 1972, 1984, 1992.

Morocco joins Cameroon and Nigeria as representatives of Africa in the Sydney games. South Africa, the second-best team, will play a playoff game against New Zealand.

Previous Stories:
  Football: Morocco poised to qualify for Olympic games   (3/13/2000)
  Olympic games: Egypt, Morocco in decisive match in Cairo   (3/10/2000)
  Kuwait renews backing to Morocco's World Cup bid   (2/16/2000)

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