By Daniel Akinte
The Atlas Lions were made to work hard by an adventurous Haitian side that had already been eliminated from the tournament but refused to leave quietly.
Haiti stunned Morocco in the 10th minute when Lenny Joseph finished off a well-worked team move, with the goal eventually recorded as an own goal by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Despite dominating possession, Morocco struggled to break down Haiti’s resilient defence and had to wait until the 39th minute to draw level.
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The equaliser did little to slow Haiti’s momentum. Just four minutes later, Wilson Isidor produced one of the goals of the tournament, unleashing a thunderous strike from distance that left Bounou with no chance and restored Haiti’s lead.
The second half was more tactical, with both sides creating opportunities but struggling to find the decisive breakthrough.
That moment finally arrived in the 78th minute when Soufiane Rahimi turned brilliantly inside the box following a flick-on from a corner kick before firing past Placide to give Morocco the lead for the first time in the match.
Haiti pushed forward in search of another response, but Morocco sealed the victory a minute from time.
Gessime Yassine finished off a flowing move for his first international goal. The strike was briefly reviewed by VAR for a possible ball-out-of-play infringement, but the goal was eventually awarded.
The final scoreline perhaps did not reflect Haiti’s impressive performance. The Caribbean nation bowed out of the tournament with pride after pushing one of Africa’s strongest sides to the limit.
For Morocco, the victory confirmed second place in Group C and a place in the Round of 32, where they will face the winners of Group F.
