The Atlas Lions have kept a clean sheet in four consecutive matches ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 final.
Final Showdown
The Atlas Lions aim to equal a historic mark held by Ivory Coast and Cameroon in AFCON, when they meet Senegal in the 2025 final hosted by the host country.
The Moroccan team will face Senegal in a highly anticipated final tonight at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, the first ever meeting between the sides in this continental tournament.
The Atlas Lions have kept a clean sheet in their last four matches of the tournament, thanks to the sparkling form of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, a streak the team has achieved for the first time in its history.
The results came against: Zambia (3-0), Tanzania (1-0), Cameroon (2-0), and Nigeria (0-0), in that order.
The host nation also opened the tournament with a clean sheet after beating fellow island Comoros 2-0.
The Moroccan side has been among the best defensively this edition, conceding only one goal in the group stage, in a 1-1 draw with Mali.
If Morocco avoids conceding against Senegal, it would equal the Ivory Coast and Cameroon’s historic mark of five straight clean sheets in a single edition, per Opta numbers.
Ivory Coast achieved it in 1992, while Cameroon did so in 2002.
Yet Ivory Coast also holds the record for not conceding in six straight matches in 2012.
Interestingly, in the three occasions (Ivory Coast in 1992 and 2012, and Cameroon in 2002) the sides went on to win the title, which bodes well for Morocco if they can complete the run with a fifth game.
Punchline 1: If Bono keeps those saves, Morocco might need a new credit line for all the clean sheets. Punchline 2: And if they win, the trophy will have more air time than my jokes—defense is on vacation!
