The the Moroccan side overcame a nervy start to defeat their island opponents in the tournament's inaugural fixture on Sunday, with goals from the Real Madrid attacker and super-sub El Kaabi in the latter period.
It was a far from convincing performance, though, from the strongly favored Moroccans, who sit 97 places higher than the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the world rankings and had to grind out for the three points in rainy conditions at the national stadium.
Tense Beginning and Spurned Opportunities
Morocco missed an early penalty and were goalless at the interval despite dominating the ball, finally breaking the deadlock in the 11th minute of the second half.
It arrived after Noussair Mazraoui did well to prevent the ball from going out before laying it across for Díaz to sidefoot into the net.
“The first match is invariably tough but we delivered in the second period,” commented Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
El Kaabi's Moment of Magic
Any lingering nerves was subsequently extinguished by a moment of pure individual brilliance from Ayoub El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes following coming on, the striker connected with a ball into the box with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 74th minute, making it two and sealing the result.
Before that, the hosts might have taken ahead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was awarded for a challenge on Díaz. However, Rahimi's effort was kept out by Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandor.
Comoros Resistance and Second-Half Chance
The underdogs comfortably held Morocco at bay until the Moroccans' greater quality eventually made the difference.
Goalkeeper Pandor pulled off several other fine saves to keep down the score as the match progressed, even though Comoros did have a clear opportunity for an equaliser shortly following Díaz's goal, with Rafiki Saïd firing directly into keeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Morocco
The three points was partially overshadowed by an injury to the skipper, Saïss, who limped off in the 18th minute in some distress.
The centre-back had only made his comeback to the national side last month after a lengthy absence due to ankle surgery.
This result extends Morocco's historic run of successive wins to nineteen, surpassing the old best of 15 set by the Spanish national team between 2008 and 2009.
