Vincent KAMT/IMAGO/Shengolpixs
Morocco also has problems on the field: Brahim Abdelkader Díaz (shirt number 10) and his teammates
It was an unexpectedly difficult start: hosts Morocco surprisingly struggled in the opening game of the men’s Africa Cup of Nations against the Comoros on Sunday evening in the capital Rabat. In the end, the highly praised team, which featured numerous “mercenaries” from the major European leagues and had won the final of the FIFA Arabia Cup against Jordan in Qatar last Thursday, defeated the outsiders 2-0. The football’s fortunes turned in the second half after the Moroccans did not look particularly confident in the first 45 minutes.
After a questionable penalty decision, the Moroccan team should have taken the lead in the tenth minute, but striker Soufiane Rahimi shot the ball directly at the feet of the Comorian goalkeeper Yannick Pandor. A little later the next setback: defender Romain Saïss suffered a torn muscle and is likely to be out for the rest of the competition. After the opening goal by midfielder Brahim Díaz in the 55th minute, the Comoros were still on the verge of equalizing, but in the end the Moroccan team’s superiority prevailed, making it 2-0 in the 74th minute.
The opening ceremony of the tournament, which runs until January 18, also left mixed feelings. King Mohammed VI, who was in poor health, did not appear at the major event with which the country is already rehearsing for 2030, when it will be the main venue for the FIFA Men’s World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. Instead, the 22-year-old Crown Prince Hassan attended the opening in the pouring rain and, as befitted his status, allowed the Moroccan officials to kiss his hand one after the other – a curious insight into the medieval-like rituals of rule of an absolute monarchy.
There was no mention at the celebrations of the at least 37 people who drowned in the floods in the Moroccan port city of Safi a week ago. There was no commemoration of the victims of this catastrophe, as was also criticized in a statement by “Generation Z 212”. The informal social movement shook the North African kingdom in September with protests against unbearable living conditions and costly large-scale projects such as the 2030 World Cup. Hundreds of activists were then imprisoned by the state.
