El Kaabi's Spectacular Strike Caps The Atlas Lions' Triumph Over the Coelacanths in Africa Cup of Nations Opening Match.
The Morocco overcame a jittery beginning to beat Comoros in the competition's opening game on Sunday, after strikes by the Real Madrid attacker and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi in the second half.
It was a less than dominant performance, however, from the heavily tipped hosts, who sit 97 places higher than the small island nation in the FIFA rankings and had to toil hard for the points in wet conditions at Rabat's 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 breaking the deadlock in the 11th minute of the second half.
It came when Noussair Mazraoui did well to prevent the ball from going out before slipping it square for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot into the net.
“The opening game is never easy but we delivered in the second half,” commented Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
The Substitute's Moment of Brilliance
The tension was then extinguished by a moment of sheer genius from Ayoub El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes after coming on, the striker met a ball into the box with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the result.
Before that, the hosts could have been ahead in the 11th minute when a spot-kick was given for a foul on Brahim Díaz. However, Rahimi's effort was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor.
The Visitors' Defiant Stand and Late Opportunity
The underdogs stoutly defended against their more illustrious opponents at bay until the Moroccans' greater quality in the end made the difference.
Goalkeeper Yannick Pandor made a number of other good stops to limit the scoreline as the match wore on, although Comoros created a chance for an equalizer shortly after Díaz's goal, with Saïd shooting straight at keeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Morocco
The victory was partially overshadowed by an apparent injury to the skipper, Saïss, who limped off after the 18th minute apparently in tears.
This centre-back had just made his comeback to the international setup last month following a lengthy layoff caused by a serious ankle operation.
This result extends Morocco's record-breaking run of consecutive victories to nineteen, surpassing the previous best of 15 set by the Spanish national team between 2008 and 2009.
