El Kaabi's Spectacular Goal Secures The Atlas Lions' Victory Over the Coelacanths in Africa Cup of Nations First Game.
The the Moroccan side shook off a nervy beginning to defeat Comoros in the competition's inaugural fixture on Sunday, with goals from the Real Madrid attacker and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi in the second half.
It was a hardly emphatic performance, though, from the highly fancied hosts, who are ranked 97 places higher than the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the FIFA rankings and were forced to work tirelessly for the three points in wet conditions at the national stadium.
Tense Beginning and Missed Chances
The hosts missed an first-half spot-kick 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 prevent the ball from going out before slipping it across for Díaz to sidefoot home.
“The first match is never easy but we came good in the second period,” commented Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
The Substitute's Piece of Brilliance
Any lingering nerves was then extinguished by a piece of pure individual brilliance from substitute El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes following coming on, the forward met a ball into the box with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result.
Before that, the hosts might have taken ahead in the 11th minute when a penalty was awarded for a challenge on Brahim Díaz. However, Soufiane Rahimi penalty was saved by Comoros goalkeeper Pandor.
The Visitors' Resistance and Second-Half Chance
Comoros comfortably held Morocco at bay until the hosts' superior firepower eventually made the difference.
Goalkeeper Yannick Pandor made a number of further good stops to limit the score as the game wore on, even though Comoros did have a chance for an equaliser shortly after Díaz's goal, with Saïd shooting straight at keeper Yassine Bounou.
Injury Concern for Morocco
The victory was partially marred by an apparent injury to Morocco's skipper, Romain Saïss, who limped off in the 18th minute in some distress.
This centre-back had just made his comeback to the international setup last month after a year’s absence due to a serious ankle operation.
This result extends the team's historic run of consecutive victories to nineteen, surpassing the old best of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.