Morocco overcame a nervous start to beat Comoros 2-1 in the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday. Brahim Díaz and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals to secure victory for the hosts at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Despite dominating possession, Morocco missed an early penalty and went in goalless at half-time. Soufiane Rahimi's spot-kick was saved by Yannick Pandor after a soft foul on Díaz. The breakthrough came in the 55th minute when Noussair Mazraoui kept the ball alive and squared for Díaz to sidefoot home.
El Kaabi extended the lead in the 74th minute with a spectacular bicycle kick, just ten minutes after coming on. Comoros had a rare chance to equalise earlier but Rafiki Saïd shot straight at goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Pandor made several good saves to keep the score down late on.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui acknowledged the difficulty: “The opening game is always difficult but we came good in the second half.” The win extended their record-breaking run to 19 successive victories, surpassing Spain's previous mark of 15 from 2008-09.
There was concern for captain Romain Saïss, who limped off in tears after 18 minutes. The centre-back had spent much of the year sidelined after ankle surgery and only recently returned to the national team.
