El Kaabi's Breathtaking Finish Wraps Up The Atlas Lions' Win Over the Coelacanths in Afcon Opener.
The Morocco shook off a jittery start to defeat their island opponents in the tournament's opening game on the weekend, after strikes by the Real Madrid attacker and super-sub El Kaabi in the latter period.
It was a far from convincing performance, though, from the highly fancied hosts, who are ranked 97 places higher than the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the world rankings and had to grind out for the victory in wet conditions at the national stadium.
Tense Beginning and Missed Chances
Morocco failed to convert an first-half spot-kick and were locked at 0-0 at the interval even with dominating the ball, eventually breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.
It arrived after full-back Mazraoui showed great skill to prevent the ball from going out before laying it across for Díaz to calmly pass home.
“The first match is always difficult but we improved in the second half,” commented manager Walid Regragui.
The Substitute's Piece of Magic
Any lingering nerves was subsequently eased by a moment of pure individual brilliance from Ayoub El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes following coming on, the forward connected with a ball into the box with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the result.
Before that, the Moroccan team could have been the lead in the 11th minute after a penalty was awarded for a foul on Díaz. However, Rahimi's effort was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Pandor.
Comoros Resistance and Late Chance
The underdogs stoutly defended against Morocco at bay until the Moroccans' individual talent eventually made the difference.
Shot-stopper Yannick Pandor pulled off several further good stops to limit the scoreline as the game wore on, even though his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly following Díaz's goal, with Rafiki Saïd firing straight at keeper Bounou.
Fitness Concern for Hosts
The victory was partially overshadowed by an apparent injury to the skipper, Saïss, who limped off after the first half apparently in some distress.
The defender had only made his comeback to the international setup last month after a year’s layoff caused by ankle surgery.
This result extends the team's record-breaking run of consecutive wins to nineteen, beating the previous best of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.
