Morocco lost 1-0 to Argentina in a friendly match played on Tuesday night in the Moroccan city of Tangier.
Agel Correa scored the match’s only goal late in the second half, but the hosts would be disappointed by the number of chances they missed.
Atlas Lions tested the Argentines backline for the first time in the 16th minute when Masraf Azraoui’s visionary pass found Achraf Hakimi. The Borussia Dortmund man expertly turned his defender, but his shot was weak and goalkeeper Esteban Andrada saved with his feet.
Nine minutes later the visitors threatened the hosts’ defense when Roberto Pereyra fired a stinging shot from outside of the box which Bounou parried.
Boussoufa was again denied by Martinez when his header was parried away for a corner in the 36th minute – just a few seconds after Bouatib’mesmerizingng run almost found the Al-Shabab man on the goal line.
But the Tangier Stadium would go into silence with Argentina missing a couple of chances with most notable one coming from some individual skill from Paulo Dybala.
In the 55th minute, the Moroccans were denied the lead when a counter-attack led by Hakimi nearly came to fruition. He released Benatia whose shot was saved by the keeper from close range. The rebound fell to Bouatib, but his effort was cleared off the line.
Mehdi Benatia had a tough time to keep up with the runners in his left back position from the hour mark but it was youngster El Ahmadi who was being out paced in the centre of defence with Da Costa having had to bail him out on some occassions.
Argentina’s counter attacks finally paid off when Atletico Madrid player Angel Correa punished the home team on 83 minute with a soft strike.
In other friendlies, Jonathan Kodja’s last-gasp penalty gave Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over Liberia in Abidjan, while Nigeria beat Egypt 1-0 with Danish-based striker Paul Onuachu scoring after nine seconds in Asaba after a defensive blunder.
In Dakar, Sadio Mane conjured up a superb individual goal for Senegal, slaloming through the Mali defence to score an 87th minute winner as the Teranga Lions triumphed 2-1.
In Baldia, Baghdad Bounedja converted a 69th minute penalty to ensure Algeria’s 1-0 victory over neighbours Tunisia.
In Accra, Ghana beat Mauritania 3-1 with Wilbeldon based striker Kwasi Appiah opening the scoring with a coolly converted penalty for Black Stars.
Mauritania got back into the game in the second half through a freekick which was beautifully converted by Adama Ba.
Caleb Ekuban and Thomas Party added two more in a match that both teams used to access their teams ahead of the AFCON tournament.
