A 2-0 victory over a spirited Comoros side last Friday at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium earned Morocco their place into the knockout stages with a game to spare
Morocco took the points, Comoros took the plaudits. It was a tale of a giant against the minnow as Comoros gave a good account of themselves despite losing out two nil.
Goals from Selim Amallah and Soufiane Chakla ensured the Atlas Lions continued their perfect start to the tournament with their sights now firmly set on the round of 16.
Midfielder Selim Amallah had given Morocco the lead just after 16 minutes when he fired from close range past Comoros keeper Salime Boina.
It seemed Morocco would run away with the game but the Comoros keeper-voted man of the match- put the performance of his life to thwart the Moroccans at each attempt.
Sofiane Boufal, impressive in the first game, provided enough width for Morocco throughout the game but could not find his scoring boot on the night.
Morocco pushed for that second goal all through the game and when presented with the chance from the penalty spot, Salime Boina was again there to deny Youssef En-Nesyri.
However, substitute Zakaria Aboukhlal finally broke the Comoros resistance when he struck deep into added time to give his side all three points and send them through to the knockout stages of the competition.
Morocco broke the Comoros resistance to seal their place into the last 16
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‘We Would Have Loved To Win’-Boina Ben Bona goalkeeper, Comoros
"This is just the start for me and I am very happy for my performance today. I come from a country without a great football culture and this is sad for me because we've been carrying a lot of hearts from our country. We would have liked to leave here with a victory. I want to go professional, it's a big dream that I see coming true one day, hopefully. I really intend to play at the highest level of football, but time will tell and I leave my life in God's hands."
‘We Need To Be More Clinical In front Of Goal’-Vahid Halilhodzic, Coach, Morocco
"We won and naturally we are happy, but the performance today could have been better but I know it was a difficult game to manage. I expected us to create more goal-scoring opportunities and I hope we can be more clinical in front of goal in the next games. I will work with my players to keep the ball more and create more chances. We didn't use the many chances we had. I had several players who are recovering from injuries and need more time to be in the desired shape".
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