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The Morocco overcame a nervy beginning to overcome their island opponents in the tournament's inaugural fixture on the weekend, thanks to the Real Madrid attacker and super-sub El Kaabi in the second half.

This constituted a far from convincing display, though, from the heavily tipped hosts, who are ranked 97 places above the small island nation in the world rankings and had to grind out for the victory in rainy conditions at Rabat's national stadium.

Nervy Beginning and Missed Chances

The hosts failed to convert an first-half penalty and were locked at 0-0 at half-time even with controlling the ball, finally opening the scoring in the 55th minute.

It arrived after Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to prevent the ball from going out before laying it across for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot home.

“The first match is invariably tough but we improved in the second half,” commented Morocco coach Regragui.

El Kaabi's Moment of Brilliance

Any lingering nerves was then extinguished by a moment of pure individual brilliance from substitute El Kaabi. Just 10 minutes after his introduction, the forward connected with a cross with a acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute, making it two and ensuring the result.

Earlier in the match, the Moroccan team might have taken the lead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was given for a foul on Díaz. Yet, Rahimi's penalty was saved by keeper Yannick Pandor.

Comoros Resistance and Second-Half Opportunity

The underdogs comfortably held their more illustrious opponents at bay before the Moroccans' individual talent in the end made the difference.

Shot-stopper Yannick Pandor pulled off several other fine saves to limit the score as the game wore on, even though his team did have a clear opportunity for an equalizer shortly following the first goal, with Rafiki Saïd shooting straight at Morocco goalkeeper Bounou.

Injury Concern for Hosts

The three points was somewhat marred by an apparent injury to the captain, Romain Saïss, who was forced off after the first half in some distress.

The defender had only made his comeback to the international setup last month after a lengthy absence caused by ankle surgery.

This result extends the team's record-breaking run of successive wins to nineteen, beating the previous best of 15 set by Spain between 2008 and 2009.