Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2025 hosts Morocco began their campaign to win a second continental title with a somewhat nervy win over Comoros in the tournament opener in rainy Rabat.
The Atlas Lions spurned a glorious chance to take an 11th-minute lead after Iyad Mohamed brought down Brahim Diaz in the box, but Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor got his left knee to Soufiane Rahimi’s penalty.
The Indian Ocean islanders sat back and frustrated their opponents until 10 minutes into the second half when Diaz was left unmarked near the penalty spot to slot in from Noussair Mazraoui’s low ball across the box.
The Real Madrid man’s strike was greeted by a loud roar by the majority of the 60,180 in attendance at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, and the game then sparked into life as Comoros forward Rafiki Said was denied by the legs of Yassine Bounou and Mazraoui saw a fine effort palmed away by Pandor.
Substitute Ayoub El Kaabi netted a sensational overhead kick with a quarter of an hour remaining to make the game safe for the North Africans and ensure that Walid Regragui’s side lived up to pre-match expectations by delivering victory.
They also did so without influential captain Achraf Hakimi, who was only fit for the bench after suffering an ankle injury playing for Paris St-Germain in a Champions League game in early November.
They also lost centre-back Romain Saiss to injury early in the game.
The three points meant Morocco extended their world record run of consecutive victories to 19 – but a more difficult test will come against Mali on Friday (20:00 GMT).
Meanwhile, there are three games on Monday as the West Africans take on Zambia in the second match in Group A, while Egypt and South Africa start their campaigns in Group B.