El Kaabi's Spectacular Finish Secures Morocco's Win Against the Coelacanths in Africa Cup of Nations Opener.
Host nation the Moroccan side shook off a nervy start to beat Comoros in the competition's first match on the weekend, with goals from the Real Madrid attacker and substitute El Kaabi in the latter period.
This constituted a hardly emphatic display, however, from the highly fancied Moroccans, who are ranked 97 places above the small island nation in the FIFA rankings and had to toil hard for the three points in wet conditions at the national stadium.
Nervy Start and Missed Chances
Morocco missed 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.
The goal arrived after Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to keep the ball in play before slipping it square for Brahim Díaz to calmly pass home.
“The first match is invariably tough but we delivered in the second period,” commented Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
El Kaabi's Moment of Magic
Any lingering nerves was subsequently extinguished by a moment of pure individual brilliance from Ayoub El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes after his introduction, the striker met a ball into the box with a acrobatic bicycle kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the result.
Before that, the hosts might have taken ahead in the 11th minute when a penalty was given for a foul on Brahim Díaz. Yet, Rahimi's penalty was kept out by keeper Yannick Pandor.
Comoros Defiant Stand and Second-Half Opportunity
The underdogs stoutly defended against their more illustrious opponents for long periods before the hosts' individual talent eventually told.
Goalkeeper Pandor made several further fine saves to keep down the score as the match wore on, although his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly following Díaz's goal, with Rafiki Saïd firing straight at keeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Hosts
The victory was somewhat overshadowed by an injury to the skipper, Romain Saïss, who limped off in the 18th minute apparently in some distress.
The centre-back had only returned to the national side recently following a lengthy absence due to ankle surgery.
The win extends the team's record-breaking run of consecutive victories to 19, beating the old best of 15 set by Spain between 2008 and 2009.
