Morocco vs Comoros: El Kaabi's overhead kick grabs headlines as Atlas Lions roar past Les Coelacantes in one-sided opener

A strong second-half performance helped Morocco muscle past a Comoros side that offered nothing but defensive resilience. Goals from Brahim Diaz and El Kaabi helped Atlas Lions kick off the tournament with a 2–0 victory.

The tournament's opening ceremony featured a coloured display of Moroccan and African heritage and creativity and featured music performance from Davido, French Montana and RedOne.

The festivities were lively, and the tournament proper began with a ceremonial kick-off from Moroccan crown prince, Moulay Hassan.

Morocco had a strong start to the game and were handed an opportunity to get the opener in the 11th minute after Congolese referee Ngala Ndambo pointed to the spot. 

Al Ain’s Sofiane Rahimi stepped up to the plate but had his attempt saved by Yannick Pandor; the Royal Francs Borain man showed early indications of the strong performance he went on to have in the game. 

Walid Regragui had to dip into his bench early on as captain—in Hakimi's absence—Romain Sais went off injured and was replaced by Jawad El Yamiq. 

The Atlas Lions dominated the first-half, limiting their Southern African opposition to no shots on target. However, they failed to get the ball past Pandor.

Morocco continued from where they left off at half-time, camping the Comoros players in their third of the pitch. Unlike the first 45 minutes, however, they moved with more ease in the Les Coelacantes backline. 

The opener eventually came in the 55th minute after a well-delivered lobbed pass to the back post from Sofyan Amrabat to Noussair Mazraoui. The Manchester United man shrugged off his marker before releasing a horizontal pass into the box for Brahim Diaz, who finished with aplomb. The Real Madrid man is one of the contenders for the AFCON Golden Boot and has officially got off the mark.

Olympiacos’s Ayoub El Khabi replaced Rahimi in the 65th minute and needed only nine minutes on the pitch to improve his side's scoreline. He did it in headline-grabbing fashion too. 

He trailed a lobbed pass from Anass Salah-Eddine to the left half-space, lifted off the ground and executed an overhead kick finish to beat Pandor. 

Comoros defended for most of the game, but also had good chances to score. The played on the counter and released Rafiki Said on goal on multiple occasions, but he combination of Yacine Bounou and the Moroccan backline snuffed out the chances at each turn.

Morocco had the chance to compound the scoreline, but solid goalkeeping from Pandor kept the scoreline respectable, as the Atlas Lions kick start their AFCON journey with a win.