Morocco’s opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations began with a 2-0 victory over minnows Comoros in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday, with the goals of Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi.
In Morocco’s grueling opening half, Soufiane Rahimi’s penalty was saved, but Diaz fired home from inside the area at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat ten minutes after the break.
El Kaabi’s stunning overhead kick earned them the second place in Group A against Namibia, Mali, and Zambia, which will likely be the tougher tests to come up next.
Morocco, the best team in Africa’s 11th place, set a record for wins with 19 straight matches as a result.
Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who appeared on the field before kick-off, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino were among those present for the 60 or 180-minute game.
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The entire game was watched from the bench by Morocco’s star man Achraf Hakimi, with coach Walid Regragui keeping the Paris Saint-Germain full-back, who hasn’t played since he injured his ankle with his club at the beginning of November.
When Morocco won a penalty in the 10th minute after Iyad Mohamed tripped playmaker Diaz inside the box, it appeared to be a long night for the Comoros.
The Comoros goalkeeper dived to his right as Rahimi’s spot-kick was blocked by Yannick Pandor’s legs, which allowed the visitors to hold on to their more illustrious hosts for the remainder of the first half.
Stunning overhead kick
Morocco, who also saw veteran centre-back Romain Saiss recover from an early injury, were able to defeat them at half-time.
The 108th-ranked Indian Ocean archipelago, known as the Comoros, had their resistance come to an end with the opening goal on 55 minutes.
Wessair Mazraoui, who started at right-back with Hakimi still recovering from a broken ankle, picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area and squared past Real Madrid’s number 10 Diaz, who was born in Spain.
Morocco, who almost broke the deadlock just before that, saw space open up despite having a chance to make money off Rafiki Said, who was denied when clean through on goal.
Before Mazraoui’s El Kaabi, of Greek giants Olympiakos, lit the show with a stunning overhead bicycle kick that sent Anass Salah-Eddine to the left to make it 2-0, Mazraoui forced a good save from Pandor.
Morocco’s next game will be against Mali on Friday, when they kick off their campaign by hosting Zambia in Casablanca on Monday.
In another matchup, South Africa will face Angola in Marrakech on Monday before Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, the record-eighteen-time African champions chasing their first title since 2010 compete against Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B.
The final will take place in Rabat on January 18 and the first edition of the Cup of Nations will begin in one year and end in another.
Source: Channels TV
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