Key events
While we wait for reaction and reports, a reminder we will be covering Mali v Zambia tomorrow at 2pm UK time. South Africa also take on Angola after that.
Full-time: Morocco 2-0 Comoros
The ref sees no need to extend the game further. Brahim Diaz and El Kaabi’s goals get the job done for the hosts, and that’s a decent start, with all credit to Comoros’s redoubtable effort in defeat. A word for their keeper, Yannick Pandor, who saved a penalty and much else besides.
90+3 min: On the bench, Hakimi, unused as expected, is deep in conversation with his teammates. Morocco have impressed while showing they have much to work on.
90+2 min: El Khannous attempts some showboating in deep midfield and loses the ball. Nothing results but he’s forced into an apology for being silly.
90 min: Amrabat gets a late, rather unnecessary booking. The free-kick results in a headed chance for Soilhi, probably Comoros’ best of the 90 minutes. There will be six minutes added on.
88 min: From the corner, El Yamiq goes close, but can’t keep the ball down. A third would have been cruel on Comoros, who have fully lived up to the occasion as the plucky underdogs.
86 min: Comoros try to break after Amrabat lofts the ball into their area but end up losing it, and having to defend a corner.
85 min: El Khannous, a rare bright spot in Leicester’s season last season, now of Vfb Stuttgart, is in the thick of things since coming on, further confirmation of the talent that hosts have within their squad.
84 min: We should credit Salah-Eddine with the assist for that El Kaabi goal, even if the the strike was all the scorer’s own work.
82 min: En-Nesyri, another sub, wants to get in on the act, and fires in a shot. Pandor saves it well. He’s been man of the match.
80 min: The stands starting to empty as the job has been completed? Perhaps to shelter from the rain, too. Amrabat, reprising his role as the box-to-box man, scuttles back to stop Said’s cross coming in.
78 min: It’s been a test of the Morocco squad, this game, and it’s been made clear they have plenty of talent to burn.
75 min: That was a possible moment of the tourney on first night. Job done, Brahim Diaz departs the scene. El Kaabi, the Olympiakos man, has all but secured the points.
Goal! Morocco 2-0 Comoros (El Kaabi, 74)
A brilliant overhead scissor kick, El Kaabi playing the ball out left and then volleying the return into the net.
74 min: Morocco have been allowed much more patience by being ahead. They’re now trying to draw out their opponents..and….
72 min: Said makes another escape, and Aguerd has to come across. Any excitement is quelled by an offside flag.
71 min: The other Youssouf – Comoros have two – commits a foul. Defending for this long, and in weather conditions that continue to worsen, is not easy.
70 min: Mazraoui shoots on goal, but Pandor, as he has been all night except when exposed by that Diaz opener, is equal to the task.
67 min: Comoros changes: Kari and Youssouf off, Abdallah and Bakari on. Said, the livewire, meanwhile, has a shot from miles out.
65 min: That’s the end of the night for Ounahi, who is replaced by Ezzalzouli, while Rahimi is replaced by El Kaabi.
64 min: Pandor makes a wonderful pair of stops as the pressure ratchets up yet further. Mazraoui shoots, the ball comes out, and El Aynaoui’s effort is also saved.
62 min: Chances coming thick and fast now, and Aguerd gets a chance to shoot as Morocco pour forward. It’s blocked by a group of bodies.
60 min: Comoros being pressured into mistakes…but Morocco are capable, too, and Said escapes after an Amrabat tackles, checks back, but Bono, who has been a passenger so far, makes a smothering save.
58 min: Morocco want another, and Diaz goes close to setting up Saibari, who is becoming ever more active across the frontline.
57 min: Now the fans in Rabat are making that noise in a positive fashion. Comoros were lulled out of their shell and paid for that.
Goal! Morocco 1-0 Comoros (Diaz, 56)
Amrabat plays the ball out to Mazraoui, who finds space and his pass to the centre finds Diaz unmarked, and the Real Madrid man makes no mistake.
54 min: Saibari comes to the ball at the back post but can’t hook it back in. Those Comoros defenders, Kari and Soilihi, have been rock solid.
52 min: The noise levels back up, but are they jeers for the home team or Comoros having the ball. Morocco have looked a lot better than towards the end of the first half where they grew more listless.
50 min: After all that effort in the first half, it’s possible Comoros legs have seized up. Mazraoui seems to be finding more space. As does Diaz. Amrabat’s cross comes in, but so does a flag on the play.
48 min: Morocco look to take the free-kick quickly and at last an opening. El Aynaoui has the goal gaping but it bounces somewhere above his calf and wide. That was as close as they have come since the penalty.
47 min: Brahim Diaz, who had a mixed first half, overplays the ball and Comoros breathe once more.
Back underway in Rabat
46 min: No changes at half-time, Morocco having already been forced into that change went Saiss pulled up. The crowd, it has to be said, is notably less fervent than ahead of kick-off.
My colleague, Yassin El-Moudden, is watching the match in London at the Africa Centre.
Half-time: Morocco 0-0 Comoros
A very AfCon start as heavy favourites struggle to break down minnows. The heroes so far have been Pandor and Said, while Morocco have lost Roman Saiss. All is not going to plan for the hosts and favourites.
45+6 min: One last free-kick chance? Brahim Diaz and Saibari cannot get the ball past the first defender. The teams leave the field to what sounds like whistles.
45+5 min: Pandor is down, and the magic spray is out. This half will drag on for a while yet.
45+4 min: Morocco, frustrated, try to get it launched, Pandor deliberates and Diaz slides in on Soilhi’s back-pass but can only foul the keeper. He’s booked for that, too.
45+2 min: Peter Oh gets in touch: “If the Comoros goalie strays too far off his line he will surely open up a Pandor’s box.”
Said does another shuttle run and gets tackled and fouled. He’s run himself into the ground, and the Moroccan team and fans to distraction.
45 min: Said continues to be a pest to idling Moroccan defenders. There will be six added minutes. Added to that long buildup, they’ve been out there a long time.
43 min: Uh oh…there’s a VAR call. Diaz looks to have handled the ball, and the referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala, from Congo, comes over. And, for once, having been asked to look at the screen, he waves it away. Jubilation from the Comoros players.
41 min: Diaz is being closed down efficiently, the Real Madrid starlet just can’t find space. He skips on and looks for another penalty. But he had already handled himself in any case.
39 min: Mazraoui is seeing plenty of the ball, but has to cut on to his left to cross. That gives the Comoros defenders chance to clear. Youssouf M’Changama, once of Oldham, makes the clearance. He’ll be comfortable with rain.
37 min: Kari, of Comoros, is booked for his foul on Saibari, and a free-kick results. Taken short, to Aguerd by Diaz, and the West Ham legend – Conference League winner – smashes it into the skies. More waste.
36 min: Aguerd has to show off some fancy footwork to take the ball past Said, who is playing a one-man pressing game, and most impressively.
34 min: Amrabat almost gives the ball away, and he’s lucky that Youssouf was not close enough to steal in. That would alter the mood.
33 min: Said wins a foul and some vital time for Comoros. All hands to the pump, and if the plan was to frustrate the hosts, it’s working. Pandor the hero so far with that penalty save.
31 min: A frustrating opening half hour for Morocco, particularly with the loss of Roman Saiss. There’s boos from the home fans as Comoros enjoy some possession.
29 min: The corner is cleared. Really good defensive organisation from Comoros. Morocco attempt some hurry-up offense, and Saibari shoots almost on sight. It doesn’t work, either.
