🔗 Share this article El Kaabi's Spectacular Strike Secures The Atlas Lions' Triumph Against Comoros in Afcon Opening Match. Host nation the Moroccan side overcame a nervy start to overcome Comoros in the tournament's opening game on the weekend, thanks to Brahim Díaz and super-sub El Kaabi in the latter period. This constituted a hardly emphatic showing, though, from the highly fancied hosts, who are ranked 97 places above the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the world rankings and were forced to grind out for the points in wet conditions at Rabat's national stadium. Tense Start and Missed Opportunities The hosts missed an early penalty and were locked at 0-0 at half-time even with dominating possession, eventually opening the scoring in the 55th minute. It came when Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to keep the ball in play before slipping it square for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot into the net. Every opening game is invariably tough but we delivered in the second half,” said manager Regragui. The Substitute's Moment of Magic The tension was subsequently extinguished by a piece of pure genius from Ayoub El Kaabi. Just ten minutes following coming on, the forward connected with a ball into the box with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result. Before that, the Moroccan team could have been the lead in the 11th minute when a penalty was given for a foul on Brahim Díaz. Yet, Soufiane Rahimi penalty was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Pandor. Comoros Defiant Stand and Late Opportunity The underdogs comfortably held their more illustrious opponents at bay before the Moroccans' superior firepower in the end made the difference. Goalkeeper Pandor made several other good stops to limit the scoreline as the match wore on, even though Comoros created a chance for an equaliser shortly following the first goal, with Rafiki Saïd shooting directly into Morocco goalkeeper Bounou. Fitness Worry for Hosts The victory was partially overshadowed by an apparent injury to the captain, Saïss, who limped off after the 18th minute apparently in some distress. The centre-back had just made his comeback to the international setup recently following a lengthy absence due to a serious ankle operation. The win continues the team's record-breaking run of successive wins to nineteen, beating the previous record of 15 set by Spain between 2008 and 2009.