El Kaabi's Breathtaking Finish Wraps Up Morocco's Victory Against Comoros in Afcon Opening Match.
The the Moroccan side overcame a anxious start to defeat Comoros in the tournament's inaugural fixture on Sunday, thanks to the Real Madrid attacker and super-sub El Kaabi in the second half.
It was a hardly emphatic performance, though, from the strongly favored hosts, who sit 97 places above the small Indian Ocean nation in the world rankings and had to work tirelessly for the points in rainy conditions at the national stadium.
Tense Start and Spurned Opportunities
Morocco missed an early penalty and were goalless at half-time despite dominating possession, finally opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
It arrived after full-back Mazraoui did well to keep the ball in play before laying it across for Brahim DĂaz to calmly pass home.
Every opening game is never easy but we improved in the second half,” said manager Regragui.
El Kaabi's Piece of Magic
The tension was then calmed by a moment of sheer genius from substitute El Kaabi. Only ten minutes following coming on, the forward met a ball into the box with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result.
Earlier in the match, the hosts might have taken ahead in the 11th minute when a spot-kick was awarded for a challenge on Brahim DĂaz. Yet, Rahimi's effort was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor.
The Visitors' Resistance and Second-Half Chance
The underdogs comfortably held their more illustrious opponents for long periods until the hosts' greater quality in the end made the difference.
Goalkeeper Yannick Pandor pulled off several other fine saves to keep down the score as the match progressed, even though his team created a chance for an equaliser shortly following the first goal, with Rafiki SaĂŻd firing straight at Morocco goalkeeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Morocco
The victory was partially overshadowed by an injury to Morocco's captain, SaĂŻss, who limped off after the 18th minute in tears.
The defender had only returned to the international setup last month after a lengthy layoff due to ankle surgery.
This result extends the team's record-breaking run of consecutive wins to nineteen, surpassing the old best of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.
