Host Morocco opened their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 2-0 victory over Comoros on Sunday, as second-half goals from Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi sealed a winning start in the tournament's curtain-raiser in Rabat. After a frustrating first half in which Soufiane Rahimi saw an early penalty saved, Morocco finally broke through 10 minutes after the interval when Diaz struck from close range at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. El Kaabi, introduced as a substitute, later wrapped up the result with a spectacular overhead kick on a wet and cold night.
The win puts the Atlas Lions in a strong position ahead of tougher Group A encounters against Mali and Zambia, while also extending Morocco's world-record winning streak to 19 matches. Ranked 11th by FIFA, Morocco is the highest-placed African side in the global standings.
“The match went as we thought it would, because the opening game is always difficult for the host nation due to all the expectations,” coach Walid Regragui said. “We have been preparing for this for two years, so there was a lot of tension. The 2-0 scoreline is well deserved, and we could even have scored a third had we not relaxed a little in the last five minutes.”
Regragui added: “It is great for the fans, but the objective was not to produce our best possible performance in the first match.”
The match was watched by a crowd of 60,180, with Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and FIFA president Gianni Infantino in attendance. Captain Achraf Hakimi remained on the bench throughout as Morocco opted not to risk the Paris Saint-Germain defender, who is recovering from an ankle injury. “We didn’t want to take any risk with Achraf. We are being very careful with him,” Regragui said.
Comoros, ranked 108th in the world, showed resilience after Rahimi’s 10th-minute penalty was saved by goalkeeper Yannick Pandor. However, their resistance ended on 55 minutes when Noussair Mazraoui set up Diaz to open the scoring, before El Kaabi’s acrobatic finish ensured victory despite a late chance for the visitors.
Morocco faces Mali on Friday, while Comoros looks to regroup ahead of their remaining group fixtures. Elsewhere, South Africa meets Angola on Monday before record seven-time champions Egypt begin their campaign against Zimbabwe, as the tournament, which concludes with the final in Rabat on January 18, continues across Morocco.
