Ayoub El Kaabi's Stunning Finish Caps The Atlas Lions' Triumph Against Comoros in Africa Cup of Nations Opening Match.
Host nation Morocco overcame a jittery start to overcome Comoros in the competition's first match on the weekend, after strikes by Brahim Díaz and super-sub El Kaabi in the second half.
It was a hardly emphatic showing, though, from the highly fancied Moroccans, who sit 97 places above the small island nation in the FIFA rankings and were forced to toil hard for the points in rainy conditions at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Nervy Beginning and Spurned Opportunities
Morocco missed an first-half penalty and were goalless at the interval even with dominating possession, finally opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
It came when Noussair Mazraoui did well to keep the ball in play before laying it across for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot into the net.
“The opening game is invariably tough but we improved in the second period,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
El Kaabi's Piece of Brilliance
The tension was then eased by a moment of sheer genius from substitute El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes following his introduction, the striker met a ball into the box with a stunning overhead kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the result.
Before that, the Moroccan team could have been the lead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was awarded for a challenge on Brahim Díaz. However, Rahimi's penalty was saved by Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor.
The Visitors' Defiant Stand and Second-Half Opportunity
The underdogs stoutly defended against Morocco at bay before the hosts' superior firepower in the end made the difference.
Goalkeeper Pandor pulled off several further good stops to limit the scoreline as the match wore on, even though his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly after Díaz's goal, with Saïd firing directly into Morocco goalkeeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Hosts
The victory was partially overshadowed by an apparent injury to Morocco's skipper, Romain Saïss, who limped off after the first half in tears.
This centre-back had only returned to the international setup recently after a year’s absence due to a serious ankle operation.
This result extends Morocco's historic run of consecutive victories to 19, surpassing the old record of 15 set by Spain from 2008 and 2009.
