Ayoub El Kaabi's Spectacular Strike Caps Morocco's Victory Over Comoros in Afcon Opening Match.
The Morocco overcame a nervy beginning to defeat Comoros in the competition's first match on the weekend, with goals from the Real Madrid attacker and super-sub Ayoub El Kaabi in the second half.
This constituted a less than dominant display, though, from the highly fancied hosts, who sit 97 places above the tiny island nation in the FIFA rankings and were forced to work tirelessly for the victory in rainy conditions at Rabat's national stadium.
Nervy Start and Missed Chances
Morocco missed an first-half spot-kick and were locked at 0-0 at the interval despite dominating the ball, eventually opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
The goal came when full-back Mazraoui showed great skill to keep the ball in play before slipping it square for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot home.
“The opening game is invariably tough but we delivered in the second half,” said Morocco coach Regragui.
The Substitute's Piece of Magic
The tension was then eased by a moment of pure genius from substitute El Kaabi. Only ten minutes after his introduction, the forward met a cross with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the win.
Earlier in the match, the Moroccan team might have taken the lead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was given for a foul on Díaz. Yet, Rahimi's penalty was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor.
Comoros Resistance and Second-Half Opportunity
Comoros stoutly defended against their more illustrious opponents at bay until the Moroccans' superior firepower eventually told.
Goalkeeper Pandor made several other good stops to keep down the score as the match progressed, although his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly after Díaz's goal, with Saïd shooting straight at Morocco goalkeeper Bounou.
Fitness Concern for Morocco
The victory was somewhat marred by an injury to the skipper, Romain Saïss, who was forced off after the 18th minute in some distress.
This centre-back had just made his comeback to the national side recently after a year’s absence caused by ankle surgery.
This result extends Morocco's historic run of consecutive victories to 19, beating the old record of 15 set by Spain between 2008 and 2009.
