JAKARTA - Brahim Diaz's opening goal and Ayoub El Kaabi's stunning overhead kick took 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) hosts Morocco to a 2-0 victory over Comoros in the tournament's opening match on Monday, December 22, 2025, early morning WIB.
The tournament favorites fulfilled expectations even though they did not enjoy an easy victory as some people anticipated.
Soufiane Rahimi's penalty in the first half was successfully tipped over before Diaz - who was the top scorer during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign - completed a close-range chance in the 55th minute using a cross from Noussair Mazraoui to help the Atlas Lions finally conquer the small team. persistent.
El Kaabi's substitute added the second goal 20 minutes later with a salto kick past Komoro goalkeeper Yannick Pandor, who was brilliant, to seal the victory.
Throughout the match, Morocco dominated. They recorded 66 percent ball possession and mostly limited the opponent's chances through counterattacks.
However, frustration began to emerge on the part of the hosts before Diaz eased the tension with the opening goal early in the second half.
The atmosphere was filled with hope ahead of the kickoff, with fans packed into the 68,700-capacity Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium giving a rousing welcome to Prince Moulay Hassan - the heir to the throne - who greeted the players before the start of the match accompanied by captain Achraf Hakimi, who received the CAF African Footballer of the Year award he won last month.
Hakimi was not included in the starting line-up by head coach Walid Regragui as he was still recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in Paris Saint-Germain's match against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on November 4, 2025. Noussair Mazraoui played as a right back in his place.
The Manchester United player was not allowed by the club to join the Morocco training camp so FIFA had to intervene.
He was instrumental throughout the match as Morocco tried to focus their attack on the flanks to stretch the defense and trouble their tight-knit opponents.
The nervousness of the visiting team was visible from the start when Pandor kicked the ball out of the field from a goal kick in the third minute. However, he made up for his mistake a few minutes later when Diaz was brought down in the penalty area by Iyad Mohamed's clumsy tackle.
The referee awarded a penalty after consulting with VAR. Pandor also saved his goal with his knee from Rahimi's penalty kick, which was greeted with cheers by the vocal Comorian fans behind the goal.
Despite this, Morocco dominated the course of the match, trying to create attack angles with sharp passes, fast movements, and sharp dribbles around the Komoro penalty box.
The visiting team defended solidly on the edge of their penalty box, but were less calm when in possession of the ball. Striker Rafiki Said had to chase high balls as their only way out.
Morocco also suffered another early setback when veteran centre-back Romain Saiss was withdrawn with an injury in the 13th minute, having earlier fallen to the ground clutching his hamstring.
"He felt something behind his knee, but we don't know if it's a muscle injury or something else. We hope it's not too serious and we can play him again later," Regragui said after the match as reported by ESPN.
Morocco's frustration began to increase before Diaz's opening goal. Rahimi unnecessarily duelled with the opposing defenders. Then, Regragui looked increasingly tense on the sidelines and the fans started using lasers on the visiting team's players and referee Jean-Jacques Ngambo Ndala.
The referee consulted the VAR again at the end of the first half when Diaz appeared to be brought down inside the penalty area, but the Real Madrid player was judged to have used his arm moments before the foul.
It didn't matter when he scored the opener in the 55th minute. He started a move that ended with Sofyan Amrabat's header to Mazraoui.
The Manchester United player then gave a low cross to Diaz who was unmarked in the penalty area.
The Komoro team almost immediately responded. Rafiki Said broke through the opponent's defense, outwitting Saiss' replacement, Jawad El Yamiq, but the ball was successfully blocked by Bounou who advanced forward.
Pandor also made a good double save just after the 60th minute, thwarting an opportunity from Ismael Saibari of Morocco.
El Kaabi, who came on as a substitute in the 65th minute replacing Ramini. He secured the victory 11 minutes later, showing the creativity that made him an attractive option for Regragui.
He jumped to meet Salah-Eddine's gut-busting cross with a leaping kick that secured an early victory for the champions' favourites.
The other two Group A teams - Mali and Zambia - begin their campaigns in Casablanca on Monday, December 22, 2025, WIB night.
Morocco will then face Mali in Rabat on Boxing Day in their bid to advance to the knockout stages. Comoros will try to get their first points against Zambia in Casablanca on December 26, 2025.
The future of the biennial tournament was changed on Saturday, December 21, 2025 with the announcement that the tournament would switch to a four-year cycle to align it with the FIFA calendar.
"Afcon (African Cup) every four years will be an event that no one wants to miss. What I want is to see African football develop," said Regragui.
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