Ayoub El Kaabi netted an outrageous overhead kick as hosts Morocco opened the Africa Cup of Nations with victory over Comoros in Rabat.
The 32-year-old scored an early Goal of the Tournament contender 16 minutes from time, to put the shine on a 2-0 win in front of Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who was proudly watching on.
Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz had opened the scoring for the Atlas Lions, who are the top-ranked side in the competition, 10 minutes into the second half, to settle the home crowd’s nerves after Soufiane Rahimi’s missed penalty during the first half.
Noussair Mazraoui found the forward unmarked in the penalty area, and he made no mistake in sliding the ball past Yannick Pandor.
Comoros then threatened to tarnish their opening night party, but Yassine Bounou did well to deny Rafiki Said with his legs.
Then came the sensational strike from substitute El Kaabi, who managed to swivel and leap up to meet Anass Salah-Eddine’s clipped cross and nail an acrobatic effort into the top corner.
Ayoub El Kaabi netted a stunning overhead kick as Morocco opened AFCON with victory
The striker settled the nerves of the home crowd against Comoros 16 minutes from time
The striker then raced away in celebration before being mauled by his team-mates, who were just as shocked as the 60,000 adoring fans in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
While the victory was far from vintage, it was Morocco’s 19th on the spin, adding to their already world record run, which started back in March 2024.
Mali and Zambia are the hosts’ two remaining games in Group A as they seek their first AFCON title since 1976.
