Raja Club Athletic defeats El Kanemi and qualifies for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup.

Raja SC secured their place in the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup after defeating Nigerian side El Kanemi Warriors 2-0 on Friday at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, in the second leg of the preliminary round.

The Green team started the match with early pressure from the right side, led by Mohamed Bouleksout, while the Nigerian team attempted to surprise Raja's goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who replaced Mehdi Harir, with some attacks that failed to pose a real threat to the home side's goal.

In the 16th minute, Mohamed Mkaazi nearly opened the scoring for Raja with a powerful shot that went just wide of the right post of the Nigerian goal.

The attacking momentum continued for the Green team, as Matias Oyowosi squandered a great opportunity to score in the 26th minute after hesitating in front of the visitors' goalkeeper.

Oyowosi threatened the Nigerian goal again in the 32nd minute with a strong shot that hit the post, denying Raja a certain goal, before Mkaazi missed another chance to score in the 42nd minute, as the Green team continued to apply pressure without converting their dominance into a goal during the first half.

In the second half, Raja SC maintained their pressure on El Kanemi Warriors' goal, but their attempts lacked effectiveness, as they struggled to turn their control into goals.

The voices of Raja's fans, who filled the stands in the thousands, grew louder as they expressed their frustration with the players' performance, while the teammates of Jordanian player Sharara, who seemed absent from the match like the rest of his colleagues, failed to find the net in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

With the attacking drought continuing, Spanish coach Paco Jiménez made two substitutions in the 68th minute, bringing in Bilal Wold Sheikh and Yahya Ighiz for Matias and Younes Dahmani in an attempt to energize the Green team.

In the 71st minute, Raja players called for a penalty, claiming that one of the Nigerian defenders handled the ball inside the penalty area, but the referee rejected the protests and ordered the game to continue.

Raja's fans had to wait until the 89th minute to break through the Nigerian defense with a brilliantly executed free kick by Ayman Barqouq, before Portuguese defender Marian Hoja scored with a header in stoppage time, sealing the match with a 2-0 victory and qualification for the group stage.

It is worth noting that the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw in Nigeria, allowing the "Green" team to reach the group stage.