El Kaabi's Stunning Finish Caps The Atlas Lions' Win Over the Coelacanths in Afcon Opener.
Host nation the Moroccan side shook off a nervy start to beat Comoros in the competition's inaugural fixture on the weekend, after strikes by the Real Madrid attacker and substitute El Kaabi in the second half.
This constituted a less than dominant display, however, from the highly fancied hosts, who sit 97 places higher than the small Indian Ocean nation in the world rankings and were forced to work tirelessly for the points in wet conditions at the national stadium.
Nervy Start and Spurned Chances
The hosts missed an early spot-kick and were locked at 0-0 at half-time even with dominating the ball, finally opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
It came when Noussair Mazraoui did well to prevent the ball from going out before laying it square for Díaz to calmly pass home.
“The opening game is invariably tough but we delivered in the second half,” said manager Regragui.
El Kaabi's Moment of Magic
Any lingering nerves was then eased by a piece of sheer individual brilliance from Ayoub El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes after coming on, the forward connected with a ball into the box with a stunning overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result.
Before that, the hosts might have taken ahead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was awarded for a challenge on Brahim Díaz. However, Soufiane Rahimi penalty was kept out by keeper Pandor.
Comoros Resistance and Late Chance
The underdogs stoutly defended against their more illustrious opponents for long periods before the Moroccans' greater quality eventually made the difference.
Goalkeeper Pandor made several further fine saves to limit the scoreline as the game progressed, although his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly following Díaz's goal, with Saïd shooting straight at keeper Yassine Bounou.
Injury Worry for Morocco
The three points was partially overshadowed by an injury to Morocco's skipper, Romain Saïss, who was forced off after the first half in tears.
The defender had only made his comeback to the national side last month after a lengthy layoff caused by ankle surgery.
The win extends Morocco's historic run of consecutive wins to 19, beating the previous best of 15 set by Spain from 2008 and 2009.