The Morocco shook off a jittery start to overcome Comoros in the tournament's inaugural fixture on the weekend, after strikes by Brahim Díaz and substitute El Kaabi in the second half.
This constituted a less than dominant showing, however, from the strongly favored hosts, who are ranked 97 places above the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the FIFA rankings and had to grind out for the three points in wet conditions at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Nervy Beginning and Missed Chances
Morocco missed an early penalty and were locked at 0-0 at half-time despite controlling possession, finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.
The goal arrived after full-back Mazraoui did well to prevent the ball from going out before laying it across for Díaz to calmly pass into the net.
Every first match is always difficult but we improved in the second half,” commented Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
The Substitute's Piece of Brilliance
The tension was then eased by a piece of sheer individual brilliance from substitute El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes after coming on, the forward met a ball into the box with a spectacular overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and ensuring the win.
Before that, the Moroccan team could have been ahead in the 11th minute after a penalty was awarded for a foul on Brahim Díaz. However, Rahimi's penalty was kept out by keeper Yannick Pandor.
The Visitors' Resistance and Second-Half Opportunity
The underdogs comfortably held their more illustrious opponents for long periods before the Moroccans' superior firepower in the end made the difference.
Shot-stopper Yannick Pandor made a number of further good stops to keep down the score as the match wore on, although Comoros created a clear opportunity for an equaliser shortly following Díaz's goal, with Rafiki Saïd shooting directly into keeper Yassine Bounou.
Fitness Concern for Morocco
The victory was somewhat marred by an injury to Morocco's captain, Saïss, who was forced off in the 18th minute in some distress.
The defender had only returned to the international setup recently following a year’s layoff due to ankle surgery.
The win continues the team's historic run of successive wins to 19, beating the old best of 15 set by Spain between 2008 and 2009.
