Morocco are looking to follow up an excellent 1-0 victory over Ghana with three more points to seal their passage to the knockout stages of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, but AFCON debutants Comoros stand in the way of the Atlas Lions on Friday. Comoros outpossessed Gabon in their opening match but fell victim in their 1-0 loss to an incisive Gabonese counter-attack, making a result necessary for Les Coelacanthes on Friday.
The Atlas Lions displayed the depth within their squad against Ghana, finding the winning goal despite numerous Covid absences in the attack. Sofiane Boufal, Player of the Match against the Black Stars, is earning his due praise with Morocco manager Vahid Halilhodžić praising the progression of the 28-year-old Angers playmaker from merely a talented dribbler to a complete attacker. Talented midfielder Aymen Barkok is still out due to Covid-19, but European-based strikers Ayoub El Kaabi and Youssef En Nesyri are reportedly back in training while Ryan Mmaee and Achraf Bencharki are still unavailable.
Comoros faced a setback with their defeat to Gabon despite controlling large stretches of the match, leading coach Amir Abdou to lament his team’s lack of “fludity and realism” as they failed to find an early goal to take control. Three players are out due to Covid-19 including Faïz Mattoir, Kassim Ahamada and Ali M’Madi but Abdou will be able to count on talented Belgian-based winger/forward Faïz Selemani after the 28-year-old tested negative. The Comorian team is confident they will be able to give Morocco a match despite Abdou’s admission that he sees the Atlas Lions advancing far in the competition, and Morocco manager Halilhodžić was careful to give the Coelacanths their due by stating that they cannot be underestimated.
SuperSport has a general English preview in the first link below. Comoros Football’s Boina Houssamdine does excellent work as always with his pre-match report on what is coming out of the Comorian camp. Sofoot details the connection between Comoros and French city Marseille, where many members of the team are from and where they play their football. Check out the links below for more on both teams.
