Morocco finally got the celebration started, but relief – not revelry – defined Sunday as the hosts eased past minnows Comoros 2-0 in the opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Driving rain dulled the mood and Morocco’s nerves showed early, summed up by a missed penalty, as the weight of expectation bore down on a side tipped as runaway favorites yet still chasing their first Cup of Nations title in 50 years.
The breakthrough came only after the break in the Group A opener, with Brahim Díaz and Ayoub El Kaabi finding the net. The margin could have been wider, though, as Comoros wilted late on and Morocco finally found their rhythm.
“It’s never easy to get into the competition,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who guided the side to the semifinals of the last World Cup in Qatar.
“An opening match is always difficult, but we did the job. It was important to win our first match, in front of our fans, to get off to a good start in the competition.
“We’d been preparing for this match for a year and a half and put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
“The game got off to a bad start, with that missed penalty and Romain Saiss being substituted.”
The Morocco captain, who had spent the first half of the year sidelined following ankle surgery, went off injured after 18 minutes in tears after an innocuous push.
There was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.
“At halftime, I wasn’t very happy with the team and made some adjustments, which the boys implemented very quickly,” Regragui added.
The first goal came 10 minutes after the break from Real Madrid’s Díaz, who was named man of the match.
“We needed to create a lot of chances because, of course, they played with 11 players behind the ball, so it was a difficult game,” Díaz said.
“We need to keep improving and create more chances to score goals.”
Morocco can expect a tougher task against Mali in their next game Friday.
