Morocco 1-0 Cote d'Ivoire: 5 Talking Points | African Cup of Nations 2019

#4 Both teams showed reasonably strong defensive capabilities

The Ivorian keeper makes a clearance.

Yes, of course there were mistakes on both sides. However, apart from those odd cases, both teams showcased their strength in defence throughout the game.

In the Ivorian team, every single player, barring the attackers and goalkeeper, made at least two tackles in the game. Wonlo Coulibaly notably made four tackles, alongside three clearances and three interceptions.

Midfielder Sergie Die also picked up two tackles and three interceptions. However, the Ivorians had poor discipline with every single player causing a minimum of one foul excluding substitutes Bakayoko and Cornet and goalkeeper Gbohouo.

The Moroccans did better defensively with midfielders Boussoufa, El Ahmadi, and Belhanda with a total of ten tackles.

The backline also aided the team with nine interceptions, but notably, goalscorer En-Nesyri made major contributions defensively with the highest number of clearances on the pitch (4).

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#5 Morocco were more creative in the final third

Chance missed!

While Morocco's dominance all-round has been mentioned, it is notable to discuss a particular aspect of the game where Cote d'Ivoire could have done better.

When it came to the final third, the Ivorians were less adept at fashioning chances for themselves.

The Ivorians were dispossessed 18 times during the game, with Nicolas Pepe losing the ball five times. Only midfielder Franck Kessie managed to make more than one dribble throughout the game.

Most notably, the Ivorians only managed six key passes, well below the Moroccans who made eleven.