đź”— Share this article El Kaabi's Spectacular Strike Secures Morocco's Win Over Comoros in Afcon First Game. Host nation the Moroccan side shook off a nervy beginning to overcome their island opponents in the tournament's first match on Sunday, after strikes by the Real Madrid attacker and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi in the latter period. This constituted a far from convincing performance, though, from the highly fancied hosts, who sit 97 places above the small island nation in the world rankings and were forced to grind out for the victory in rainy conditions at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium. Tense Start and Spurned Opportunities Morocco missed an early penalty and were goalless at half-time despite controlling possession, finally opening the scoring in the 55th minute. It came when Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to keep the ball in play before slipping it across for DĂaz to sidefoot home. Every opening game is invariably tough but we came good in the second period,” said manager Regragui. El Kaabi's Piece of Brilliance The tension was then calmed by a piece of pure individual brilliance from Ayoub El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes after coming on, the striker connected with a ball into the box with a stunning overhead kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the result. Before that, the hosts could have been the lead in the 11th minute after a penalty was given for a challenge on Brahim DĂaz. Yet, Rahimi's effort was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor. The Visitors' Defiant Stand and Late Opportunity Comoros stoutly defended against Morocco at bay until the Moroccans' greater quality eventually made the difference. Goalkeeper Yannick Pandor pulled off several other good stops to keep down the scoreline as the game progressed, although his team did have a chance for an equalizer shortly after DĂaz's goal, with Rafiki SaĂŻd firing straight at keeper Yassine Bounou. Injury Concern for Morocco The victory was somewhat overshadowed by an injury to Morocco's captain, Romain SaĂŻss, who was forced off after the 18th minute apparently in some distress. This defender had just returned to the international setup last month following a lengthy absence caused by a serious ankle operation. The win extends the team's record-breaking run of consecutive victories to 19, beating the previous record of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.