Ayoub El Kaabi's Stunning Finish Secures The Atlas Lions' Win Over the Coelacanths in Africa Cup of Nations Opening Match.
Host nation Morocco shook off a jittery beginning to defeat Comoros in the tournament's inaugural fixture on Sunday, with goals from Brahim Díaz and super-sub Ayoub El Kaabi in the second half.
This constituted a less than dominant showing, though, from the strongly favored Moroccans, who sit 97 places above the small island nation in the FIFA rankings and were forced to grind out for the points in rainy conditions at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Nervy Start and Missed Opportunities
Morocco missed an first-half spot-kick and were locked at 0-0 at the interval even with controlling the ball, eventually opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
It arrived after full-back Mazraoui showed great skill to prevent the ball from going out before slipping it square for Díaz to calmly pass home.
Every opening game is never easy but we came good in the second period,” commented Morocco coach Regragui.
El Kaabi's Piece of Magic
Any lingering nerves was then extinguished by a moment of sheer genius from substitute El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes following coming on, the striker connected with a cross with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and ensuring the result.
Before that, the hosts might have taken ahead in the 11th minute when a penalty was given for a challenge on Brahim Díaz. However, Rahimi's effort was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Pandor.
Comoros Resistance and Second-Half Opportunity
Comoros comfortably held their more illustrious opponents for long periods before the Moroccans' greater quality in the end made the difference.
Shot-stopper Yannick Pandor pulled off a number of further good stops to keep down the score as the game progressed, although his team did have a clear opportunity for an equalizer shortly after the first goal, with Rafiki Saïd shooting straight at keeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Hosts
The three points was somewhat overshadowed by an apparent injury to the skipper, Saïss, who was forced off after the 18th minute in some distress.
This centre-back had only returned to the national side recently following a lengthy layoff due to ankle surgery.
This result extends Morocco's record-breaking run of consecutive wins to 19, surpassing the previous record of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.
