AFCON 2025: Morocco beat Comoros in opener
Host nation Morocco got their crowd on their feet, cheering and celebrating regardless of the rains in the AFCON opener. The Atlas Lions scored two second half goals to see off Comoros in group A.
Philemon MBALE · Author profile ·
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A complicated first period
Morocco’s evening should have been more relaxed with a penalty in the first quarter of an hour of play. Breaking into the box, Brahim Diaz got a penalty for Walid Regragui’s men but Soufiane Rahimi missed out, while Yannick Pandor made a decisive save with his left knee to keep the Comoros afloat.
But nine minutes after this failure, Morocco will lose its captain, Romain Saïss, to injury after the latter fell badly on a duel with a Comorian attacker. Another game event that warned about the difficult evening ahead for the Atlas Lions. Despite some defensive errors by the Comoros, Morocco was not able to take advantage to break the deadlock and will return to the locker room with pressure on their shoulders. Stefano Cusin’s Comoros were therefore on the perfect shot. But that did not last.
Brahim Diaz, first scorer of the AFCON 2025
After the tension of the first minutes, it is a tenfold increase in Morocco that we saw in the second period. Carried by their public in this magnificent Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium of Rabat, the Lions of the Atlas returned with a more conquering face and managed to blow the Comorian lock very quickly.
After a big effort in extension on the right side, Noussair Mazraoui will cross back to find Brahim Diaz who – with a flat foot in the 55th minute – unlocked the situation for the host country. Forgotten by the Comorian defense, the Madrid player who wanted to take the penalty in the first period, had his chance and took it to score the first goal of this 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. A goal that lifted Achraf Hakimi from his seat, who remained on the bench for this opening match after presenting his African Player of the Year trophy to the Moroccan supporters before the kick-off
Ayoub El Kaabi, the stroke of genius
Enters the game in the 65th minute to replace Soufiane Rahimi, Ayoub El Kaabi will score an anthology goal less than ten minutes later. On a delightful cross from Anass Salah-Eddine, the Olympiakos striker put out a sublime acrobatic over head kick to break in favor of his team (74th) and definitely fold the match. It will be the last goal of the game and Morocco takes home all three points of the day.