El Kaabi's Stunning Goal Wraps Up Morocco's Victory Over Comoros in Afcon Opening Match.
The the Moroccan side overcame a nervy beginning to overcome their island opponents in the competition's inaugural fixture on Sunday, thanks to the Real Madrid attacker and substitute El Kaabi in the second half.
This constituted a far from convincing showing, though, from the heavily tipped hosts, who are ranked 97 places higher than the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the FIFA rankings and were forced to grind out for the victory in rainy conditions at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Nervy Start and Spurned Chances
Morocco missed an first-half penalty and were goalless at the interval even with controlling the ball, eventually opening the scoring in the 11th minute of the second half.
It arrived after full-back Mazraoui did well to prevent the ball from going out before laying it square for Díaz to sidefoot home.
“The opening game is invariably tough but we improved in the second half,” said Morocco coach Regragui.
El Kaabi's Moment of Brilliance
The tension was then calmed by a piece of sheer individual brilliance from substitute El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes after his introduction, the forward met a ball into the box with a acrobatic bicycle kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the win.
Earlier in the match, the hosts might have taken the lead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was given for a foul on Díaz. However, Rahimi's effort was kept out by keeper Pandor.
The Visitors' Resistance and Late Opportunity
Comoros comfortably held their more illustrious opponents for long periods before the Moroccans' individual talent in the end made the difference.
Goalkeeper Pandor pulled off a number of further fine saves to limit the scoreline as the game wore on, even though his team created a chance for an equaliser shortly after the first goal, with Rafiki Saïd firing straight at keeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Morocco
The three points was partially overshadowed by an apparent injury to the skipper, Saïss, who was forced off after the 18th minute apparently in some distress.
The centre-back had just made his comeback to the international setup recently following a lengthy absence caused by ankle surgery.
The win extends the team's record-breaking run of consecutive victories to nineteen, surpassing the previous best of 15 set by Spain from 2008 and 2009.
