Key events
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.
28 min: Salah-Eddine is fouled, to set up a free-kick chance from the left-hand side. It’s blasted right into the wall, and only a corner will result.
26 min: The deluge continues, in terms of Morocco pressure. Some fine crosses coming in, but Comoros are defending doggedly.
25 min: Sven Dobbelaere gets in touch: “Yay Afcon is back! This is the best tournament imho :).Thanks for the coverage. As a Belgian, looking dorward to seeing what Saintfiet can do with Mali (tricky group they’re in!), and wondering wtf Hugo Broos was thinking earlier, but looking forward to sering South Africa too. I hope Morocco don’t crumble under the weight of expectations. Personally, I’m rooting for Dr Congo.
So does Joe Pearson: “I hope that was an intentional reference to Bladerunner.”
Ahem.
23 min: Such talent in this Morocco team, even without Hakimi, though perhaps being the team asked to play on the front foot isn’t likely to show their best side.
21 min: That Saiss loss seems to have taken the steam from Morocco. What can Amrabat, these days of Betis, do? Mazraoui smashes in the ball, and it falls to Diaz, who cannot get over it.
19 min: Saiss goes off, and El Yamiq, once of Genoa and Valladolid, comes on. His first involvement is coming across to rob Said who was offside, though the referee kept play going for an inordinate amount of time.
16 min: Saiss plays on for now as Morocco continue to pile forward. But that’s that, he’s down again, and visibly upset. He might not be back until the very later stages. Tears in the rain from him.
14 min: Roman Saiss, once of Wolves, has gone to the floor, and that looks a hamstring pull. That long wait to kick off has taken its toll.
Lucian gets in touch: “Thanks for the coverage of tge AFCON opening ceremony & match. A slight correction, required: Akhannouch is the prime minister of Morocco, as you rightly pointed out later in the post. Have fun, wish I was there. Getting feelings of homesickness, having grown up in Rabat snd then Tangier. Greetings from cold Switzerland!”
I shall be heading there for a few days at the start of January. The weather looks unpromising.
13 min: Mazraoui commits a silly foul; Morocco probably need to calm down here.
12 min: Good goalkeeping, good psychology from Pandor. Now, can the Moroccans deal with the pressure?
Penalty saved!
Rahimi chooses to smash it, and Pandor reads it, the ball bouncing clear. That was a poor penalty.
Penalty to Morocco!
10 min: Rahimi and Brahim Diaz both make penalty claims, the second results in the ball, and is soft. Mohamed had made the challenge but VAR goes with ref’s call
8 min: Salah-Eddine, the PSV player, on loan from Roma, is on the right, and so is Mazraoui. Morocco appear to be rushing things a bit here. The crowd are most expectant.
6 min: One-way traffic appears the order of the day. Comoros will go on the counter. Selemani is fouled as he tries to make his escape. That looked a booking. Not given.
5 min: Comoros are sat deep. El Aynaoui is frustrated in his attempts to get the ball into the centre. Good control by Rahimi, but Comoros get back in numbers.
3 min: Couple of long slide tackles already. The groundsman will not be happy. Amrabat, such a hero in Qatar, and who ought to be recalled fondly at Manchester United for his performance in the 2024 FA Cup final, is in the thick of midfield.
Away we go at AfCon
1 min: Kick-off comes as relief for the players who have been getting soaked to the skin under that downpour. Huge noise as Mazraoui sets off on a run, jeers when he loses the ball and Comoros get the ball.
Five of the 11 who started for Morocco in the 2022 World Cup semi take the stage, minus Hakimi, of course. Comoros seek to go as far as in 2021 when they got to the last 16. It really is raining hard.
The Crown Prince, dressed like Kendall Roy, takes the ceremonial first kick of the championships. It’s raining in Rabat.
The atmosphere in Rabat is wild, flags waving, noise aplenty. The pressure’s on. Achraf Hakimi is sat on the bench, the coolest man in the stadium. He’s not expected to play a part, he hasn’t played since coming off with a left ankle injury in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the start of last month. Surprise! Gianni Infantino is in the building, pressing flesh with Aziz Akhannouch, the president of Morocco; Gianni never leaves home without the company of a nation’s premier. Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco, is part of the delegation, too.
The teams take to the field in Rabat, the stadium looks close to full, the home fans are expectant. Can Morocco set a standard?
On the field at Rabat, at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, CAF President Dr Pratrice Motsepe has takes to declare the AFCON open. Sadly, UK coverage of the opening ceremony has been non-existent.
Achraf Hakimi, a high performer in our Top 100, is on the bench for Morocco. His coach, Walid Regragui, spoke ahead of the tourney: “We have been working for two years. It will be a big day, at home. Our objective has always been to win the AFCON and to give everything. Our supporters are with us.”
On Hakimi:“He may start, or he may not. Every match is important. We will have to manage emotions and play with confidence and humility.”
A reminder of the Afcon 2026 groups:
Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
Karim gets in touch: “I am 51 and have waited all my life for Morocco to win an Afcon. Every two years I sit down to see which shambolic, hilarious and shameful way they can mess it up this time. But this time surely, this is our year. My son and I are heading to Rabat for the final, so this is going to be a stressful four weeks. Love your work John, keep it up and enjoy the game mate.”
Here’s the teams
Morocco: Bono; Salah-Eddine, Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui; Ounahi, Amrabat, Diaz; El Aynaoui, Rahimi, Saibari. Subs: Talbi, Seghir, El Yamiq, En-Nesyri, Chibi, Hakimi, Munir, Boudial, Al Harrar, El Kaabi, Targhalline, Akhomach, Masina, El Khannous, Ezzalzouli
Comoros: Pandor; Kari, Soilhi, Toibibou, Boura; Z. Youssouf, B. Youssouf, Mohamed, Selemani; Ahamada, Said;. Subs: Amir, Mohamed, Bakari, Ahmed, Bourhane, M’Dahoma, Maolida, Lutin, Ben, Abdallah, Abdallah, Vita, Anzimati, Morivili, Boina
As Jonathan Wilson says: “Perhaps attitudes are not quite as parochial as they once were, but it remains true that, in England at least, the Africa Cup of Nations is discussed less as a tournament in its own right than in terms of what it means for the Premier League.”
There will be considerable Premier League contingent in Morocco, some real key names, too.
The big stories ahead of this championship kicking off have been the controversial lack of lead time, and that the tournament will take place every four years but only after it is held in 2027 and 2028.
Preamble
The host nation kicks off against the island nation. Africa’ best team at the last World Cup take on a team who are second-time qualifiers, and we kick off in Rabat after the opening ceremony. Morocco have only won this competition once, and that will be 50 years come new year and the tournament ending on 18 January.
Kick-off is at 7pm UK time / 8pm local time. Join me.
