Morocco trounced Mali 4-0 at the Olympic Stadium here on Wednesday to set up the first-ever all-north African Nations Cup final clash against hosts Tunisia this weekend.
Youssef Mokhtari scored once in each half, first after 14 minutes through a free kick and then in the 57th minute when against the run of play he smashed a shot past the diving Mahamadou Sedibe in the Mali goal.
Youssef Hadji grabbed his third goal of the tournament after he stabbed home a fine through ball by Marouane Chamakh in the 80th minute before substitute Nabil Baha completed the rout in injury time.
"There are no excuses to offer today," said Mali's French coach Henri Stambouli.
"We lost heavily to a very good Moroccan team. After we had conceded two goals I told my players to attack but Morocco soaked up all the pressure and hit us on the counter. That is football for you."
Hadji, whose brother Moustapha plays for English Premiership side Aston Villa, said the 4-0 win would be a massive tonic for the team ahead of Saturday's finals against the hosts in Tunis.
"The whole team worked hard for this victory and winning by as many as four goals can only boost our confidence when we come up against Tunisia and their supporters on Saturday," said Hadji.
Tunisia reached the final by defeating Nigeria 5-3 on penalties in the earlier semi-final. The match had ended 1-1 following extra time.
Mali have the scant consolation of taking on fellow west Africans Nigeria in the third-place playoff on Friday in Monastir.
The Atlas Lions of Morocco opened the game brightly and within minutes Mokhtari fired the first warning when his first free kick of the game was pushed away for a corner by Sidibe.
After Mokhtari's free kick goal Mali fought back gamely for an equaliser with Tottenham ace Frederic Kanoute and his striking partner Dramane Traore proving a constant danger to the Moroccan backline ably marshalled by captain Noureddine Naybet, who was winning his 103rd cap.
Daouda Coulibaly mishit his shot from inside the 18-yard box after 35 minutes and a little earlier Dramane Traore had also come very close as the Eagles of Mali kept up the pressure.
Mali continued with the same attacking verve after the break while Morocco pulled more bodies back into defence, which now looked to be missing the injured Paris Saint-Germain defender Talal El Karkouri.
But just when Mali looked like they would be rewarded for all their hard work, Mokhtari again popped up from nowhere to double Morocco's advantage early in the second half.
In one of the few attacks Morocco launched, Mokhtari ran at goal and from the edge of the box again fired beyond the Mali goalkeeper.
Goals from Hadji and Baha in the space of 12 minutes finally took the match beyond the west Africans, who have now crumbled in three semi-finals, in 1994, 2002 and 2004.