El Kaabi's Spectacular Goal Secures The Atlas Lions' Triumph Over Comoros in Afcon Opening Match.
Host nation Morocco overcame a anxious beginning to beat their island opponents in the competition's inaugural fixture on the weekend, thanks to Brahim Díaz and super-sub El Kaabi in the second half.
This constituted a hardly emphatic showing, however, from the heavily tipped Moroccans, who sit 97 places higher than the small island nation in the world rankings and were forced to work tirelessly for the points in wet conditions at the national stadium.
Nervy Start and Missed Opportunities
The hosts missed an first-half spot-kick and were locked at 0-0 at half-time despite dominating the ball, finally opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
It arrived after Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to prevent the ball from going out before slipping it across for Díaz to calmly pass into the net.
“The first match is invariably tough but we delivered in the second half,” commented manager Regragui.
El Kaabi's Moment of Brilliance
Any lingering nerves was subsequently eased by a piece of sheer individual brilliance from substitute El Kaabi. Only ten minutes after his introduction, the forward connected with a cross with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the win.
Before that, the hosts could have been the lead in the 11th minute when a penalty was given for a foul on Díaz. Yet, Rahimi's penalty was saved by keeper Pandor.
Comoros Resistance and Second-Half Chance
The underdogs stoutly defended against Morocco at bay until the Moroccans' superior firepower in the end told.
Goalkeeper Pandor pulled off a number of other fine saves to limit the score as the match progressed, even though his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly after Díaz's goal, with Saïd shooting directly into keeper Yassine Bounou.
Fitness Worry for Morocco
The victory was somewhat marred by an apparent injury to the skipper, Romain Saïss, who limped off after the 18th minute in some distress.
This defender had just returned to the international setup last month after a lengthy layoff caused by ankle surgery.
This result continues Morocco's historic run of successive victories to nineteen, beating the previous record of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.
