Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals as hosts Morocco got the Africa Cup of Nations off to a winning start by beating Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening match on Sunday.
Soufiane Rahimi had a penalty saved in a frustrating first half for highly-fancied Morocco, but Diaz fired home from the penalty area ten minutes after the break at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat.
Substitute El Kaabi then got the second with a brilliant bicycle kick. The victory on a wet and cold night prepares the Atlas Lions for the potentially tougher tests in Group A against Mali and Zambia.
The result also saw Morocco, Africa’s top team in the FIFA rankings – in 11th place – extend its world-record winning streak to 19 consecutive matches.
“The match went as we expected, because the opening match is always difficult for the host country due to all expectations,” said coach Walid Regragui.
“We’ve been preparing for this for two years, so there was a lot of excitement.
“The 2-0 scoreline is well deserved, and we could have even scored a third if we hadn’t been a bit relaxed in the last five minutes.
“It’s great for the fans, but the goal wasn’t to put in our best possible performance in the first game.”
The match was played in front of 60,180 spectators, including Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan – who appeared on the pitch before kick-off – and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Morocco’s star man and captain Achraf Hakimi also ended up watching the entire match from the bench, with Regragui retaining the Paris Saint-Germain full-back, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury at his club in early November.
«We didn’t want to take any risks with Achraf. We are very careful with him,» Regragui said.
It looked to be a long night for the Comoros as Morocco won a penalty in the tenth minute when playmaker Diaz was tripped in the penalty area by Iyad Mohamed.
But Yannick Pandor’s legs kept out Rahimi’s penalty as the Comoros goalkeeper dived to his right, and the visiting side then managed to thwart the hosts for the remainder of the first half.
Beautiful bicycle kick
Morocco, which also saw veteran Romain Saiss leave the match injured early on, managed to break down its opponent after half-time.
In the Comoros, the small archipelago in the Indian Ocean that is ranked 108th in the world, the resistance ended when the opening goal came in the 55th minute.
Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui, starting at right back with Hakimi not yet fully fit, collected the ball on the right side of the penalty area and put the ball in the path of Real Madrid’s Spanish-born number 10 Diaz to score.
Morocco, who had seen Neil El Aynaoui almost break the deadlock moments earlier, then saw space open up, although Comoros had a chance of their own when Rafiki Said was denied as he scored on target.
Mazraoui forced a good save from Pandor before El Kaabi, who plays for Greek giants Olympiacos, brightened the occasion by meeting Anass Salah-Eddine’s cross from the left with a stunning overhead kick to make it 2-0.
Morocco’s next match is Friday against Mali, which starts its campaign by taking on Zambia in Casablanca on Monday.
Elsewhere on Monday, South Africa take on Angola in Marrakesh before Mohamed Salah’s Egypt – Africa’s record seven-time champions who are chasing a first title since 2010 – get their bid against Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B.
This latest edition of the Cup of Nations is the first to start in a year and end in another, with the final taking place in Rabat on January 18.
Published on December 22, 2025
