wo goals, a clean sheet and a match without sparkle: the Atlas Lions opened their qualifying campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations on Friday night in Rabat by beating Gabon 2-0, on the first matchday of Group A.
Noussair Mazraoui opened the scoring in the thirty-sixth minute with a slightly deflected strike, and Soufiane Rahimi made it two in the eighty-fourth.
Without Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari, both suspended, Mohamed Ouahbi’s side owed its quiet finish to Yassine Bounou, who made several first-class saves late in the match.
The coach had started three of the Under-20 world champions he led to the title in Chile: Yassir Zabiri, Gessime Yassine and Ali Maamar.
On Tuesday, September 29, Morocco will face Lesotho in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in a group that also includes Niger and from which only the top two go through to the finals.
Photo: Reda benkhadra, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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