The tournament opened with hosts Morocco defeating a spirited challenge from African Cup of Nations underdogs Comoros.
Published December 22, 2025
African Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosts Morocco overcame a nervous start to beat Comoros 2-0 in their opening game of the tournament on Sunday, with second-half goals from Brahim Dias and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi.
It was a far from satisfying result for highly dreamy Morocco, who sit 97th above the small Indian Ocean island nation in the world rankings and had to work hard for points in the rain at Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
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Morocco wasted an early penalty and went into half-time goalless despite dominating possession, but they finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute. Nousser Mazraoui then failed to get the ball out of play and Diaz side-footed the goal.
El Kaabi eased the tension with a trademark bicycle kick goal in the 74th minute, 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Morocco initially appeared to be struggling under the burden of expectations, but the diminutive Comoros effortlessly kept them at bay until the hosts’ superior firepower secured victory.
The hosts could have taken the lead as early as the 11th minute after being awarded a soft penalty for Iyad Mohamed’s challenge on Dias. However, Sufjan Rahimi took a spot kick down the middle, hitting goalkeeper Yannick Pandor’s knee and the ball looped and ran safely away.
However, the resistance was eventually broken as Díaz reaped his well-deserved reward for his continued quest and El Kaabi’s goal secured a respectable scoreline.
Pandor made several other good stops to keep the score in check in the closing stages as his teammates began to tire, but Comoros had a chance to equalize four minutes after Diaz’s goal, but Rafiki Saeed’s first chance of the game saw him hit Moroccan goalkeeper Yassin Bounou.
“Difficult” opening game
“Opening games are always difficult, but we got better in the second half,” Morocco coach Walid Reglagui said.
Morocco extended the national team’s winning streak to 19, surpassing Spain’s best of 15 in 2008-09 in October.
However, concerns will remain in the home camp as captain Romain Saiss limped off after 18 minutes and the centre-back left the field in tears. He spent the first half of the year sidelined due to ankle surgery and only returned to the national team last month after a year.
Mali and Zambia will meet in the next Group A clash in Casablanca on Monday, the second day of the month-long tournament. There are also two Group B matches, with Angola facing South Africa in Marrakech and Mohamed Salah’s Egypt facing Zimbabwe in Agadir.
