A spectacular bicycle kick earned royal approval for Ayoub El Kaabi as host Morocco opened the 35th Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over Comoros on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Home fans including Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who greeted the players before kickoff, had endured a frustrating game as island nation Comoros, ranked 108th in the world, stubbornly held out against one of the tournament favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor even saved an early penalty from Soufiane Rahimi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brahim D\u00edaz finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute, setting off relieved celebrations around the stadium, before El Kaabi sealed the win with an overhead kick in the 74th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morocco\u2019s quest to\u00a0become a soccer superpower\u00a0is a family affair. It was a passion for the prince\u2019s grandfather, Hassan II, and the current king, Mohammed VI, who oversaw one of the most aggressive buildouts in African sporting history to achieve his aim. The Kingdom is set to be a main co-host of the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohammed VI\u2019s portrait was beside Gianni Infantino as the FIFA president proclaimed in French before kickoff, \u201cThis will be the best ever Africa Cup of Nations!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only blemish from a Moroccan point of view was an early injury to team captain Romain Sa\u00efss, who wiped away tears as he left the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe felt something behind his knee but we don\u2019t know if it is muscular or something else,\u201d Morocco coach Walid Regragui said. \u201cWe hope it\u2019s not too serious and that we can get him back later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morocco\u2019s regular captain, Achraf Hakimi, remained among the substitutes after\u00a0recovering from an ankle injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are being very careful with him,\u201d Regragui said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hakimi was well enough to show his African Footballer of the Year trophy to fans before kickoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spectacular light show<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excitement had been building for hours Sunday and wintry showers failed to dampen the mood. Beninese artist Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo, Moroccan singer Jaylann and French-Moroccan rapper Lartiste performed the tournament\u2019s official song for the first time during a spectacular light show for the opening ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the highlight for the Moroccan fans \u2013 judging by the sea of smartphones to capture the moment \u2013 was the appearance just before kickoff of the king\u2019s eldest son beside Infantino and Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football. Prince Moulay Hassan shook hands with the Comoros players and then posed for a photo with the Morocco team, seemingly unperturbed by heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atlas Lions ready to roar<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morocco is backed by many to lift what would be just its second Africa Cup title 50 years after the first in 1976. The final is Jan. 18 next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morocco is the highest-ranked African team at No. 11. The Atlas Lions, as the team is known, became the first from Africa to reach the World Cup semifinals in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morocco still relied on goalkeeper Yassine \u201cBono\u201d Bounou to deny Comoros\u2019 Rafiki Sa\u00efd a prompt equalizer after D\u00edaz\u2019s opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am very proud of my players,\u201d Comoros coach Stefano Cusin said of his team\u2019s battling performance. \u201cWe have a lot of youngsters. I think we gave a good image of Comoros.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opening match was played in Rabat\u2019s renovated almost 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, one of nine venues across six cities that were constructed or renovated for the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tournament mascot is a lion named Assad, inspired by the barbary lions that once prowled the mountains of north Africa. The last known photograph of a wild lion in Morocco was taken by French army photographer Marcelin Flandrin from a flight over the Atlas Mountains in 1925.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salah\u2019s Egypt plays Zimbabwe on Monday<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt begins its bid for a record-extending eighth title \u2013 and Mohamed Salah\u2019s first \u2013 against Zimbabwe in Agadir on Monday. Defending champion Ivory Coast begins its title defense against Mozambique in Marrakech on Wednesday. Senegal and five-time champion Cameroon are also among the favorites, while Algeria was the only country apart from Morocco to have all its matches sold out already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The future of the biennial tournament took a twist Saturday with the announcement it will\u00a0move to a four-year cycle\u00a0to bring it in line with the FIFA calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe AFCON every four years will be an event nobody wants to miss,\u201d Regragui said. \u201cWhat I want is to see African football grow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A spectacular bicycle kick earned royal approval for Ayoub El Kaabi as host Morocco opened the 35th Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over Comoros on Sunday. Home fans including Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who greeted the players before kickoff, had endured a frustrating game as island nation Comoros, ranked 108th in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4],"tags":[7,14,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-40779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-sports","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n