The Moroccan national team continues its journey towards winning its second title in the Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco, as it faces the Nigerian national team on Wednesday evening in the semi-final of the continental tournament.

The "Atlas Lions" aspire to overcome the obstacle of the "Green Eagles" in the highly anticipated match hosted at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital, Rabat, in order to reach the final scheduled for next Sunday on the same ground, where they will face the winner of the second semifinal between the national teams of Egypt and Senegal.

This appearance marks the Moroccan national team's fifth participation in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations. It is worth noting that their only title, won in 1976 in Ethiopia, was achieved in a tournament that did not feature a semifinal stage; instead, the final round was played as a mini-league among four teams, which Morocco topped to claim the championship.

During its previous four appearances in the semifinals, the Moroccan national team achieved only one win and suffered three losses, noting that this return to the semifinals comes after an absence of about 22 years.

Morocco made its first appearance in this stage during the 1980 edition hosted by Nigeria, where they were defeated by the host team with a score of 1-0, before securing third place after defeating the Egyptian team in the third-place match.

In the 1986 edition held in Egypt, despite Morocco having a golden generation of players at the time, they were unable to reach the final after losing to the Egyptian national team 1-0 in the semifinal. This match had a revengeful tone following the "Atlas Lions" elimination of the Pharaohs from the qualifiers for the Mexico World Cup.

The failure was repeated in the 1988 edition hosted by Morocco, where the national team unexpectedly lost to Cameroon 1-0, with Roger Milla scoring the goal 12 minutes before the end of the match at the Mohammed V Stadium. Following this match, the "Indomitable Lions" went on to win the title.

The only exception came in the 2004 edition in Tunisia, when the Moroccan national team reached the final following a decisive 4-0 victory over Mali in the semifinals. The goals were scored by Youssef Mokhtari (two goals), Youssef Hadji, and Nabil Baha. However, the "Atlas Lions" settled for second place after losing to the Tunisian team in the final.

The Moroccan national team enters the current match against Nigeria driven by the advantages of playing at home and the support of their fans, with the ambition to break the semifinal curse and write a new chapter in the history of Moroccan football by reaching the final and competing for the continental title that has been out of reach for half a century.