Morocco begins their AFCON 2025 journey at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Sunday December 21, 2025, aiming to avoid becoming the first hosts since Burkina Faso in 1998 and sixth overall to lose the opening match.
Even without the physically compromised Achraf Hakimi, the Atlas Lions will head into Sunday confident in their chances of avoiding a shock draw or defeat, even if they will be wary of their opponents.
Walid Regragui’s men enter their 20th AFCON with the weight of expectation of supporters who want the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists to finally shed their tag of being underachievers for so long on the continent, aiming to claim the crown for only the second time and a first since 1976.
Hosting it for the first time in 1988 only resulted in a semi-final berth, before they lost the third-place match, a stage that the one-time African champions have seldom reached since.
In fact, Morocco’s best showings at the Cup of Nations since reaching the title match in 2004 were two quarter-finals at the 2017 and 2021 editions.
There have been four group-stage exits and two round-of-16 eliminations, the latter of which happened in the 2023 finals in the Ivory Coast, where they were stunned by South Africa.
However, shocks are never far away at this level of competition, and Comoros know a thing or two about stunning superior opposition.
Les Coelacanths return to the continent’s flagship tournament full of memories from their debut appearance in 2021, when they advanced to the tournament’s last 16 at Ghana’s expense with a 3-2 victory over the Black Stars in the final match of the group.
Benefitting from the tournament’s expansion, Comoros progressed as one of the four best third-placed teams, with the West African giants exiting, but what has happened in the following years highlights the Coelacanths’ threat.
Having missed out on participation at AFCON 2023 after suffering the misfortune of being grouped with Zambia and the Ivory Coast, despite the latter qualifying as hosts, they still accumulated seven points, a commendable return.
Not to be denied this time, Stefano Cusin’s team performed commendably to end their section without losing, earning three wins and playing out three draws.
Their finest result was defeating Tunisia in Tunis, before holding the North African nation to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, scores that led to the 2004 champions dismissing Faouzi Benzarti.
While clean sheets were few and far between, the collective strength of Cusin’s team and their growth over the years suggest that it would be ill-advised to underrate their counter-attacking threat.
Despite their lowly No. 108 ranking, Comoros have very recently shown that they are one of the continent’s most dangerous sides, claiming five wins in World Cup qualifying, including another victory over Ghana.
No longer given the runaround, securing so many triumphs to thrive in World Cup qualification was proof of their rise, and they will back themselves to threaten Morocco on Sunday, aiming for a repeat of a 2-2 draw in AFCON 2019 qualifying.
Hakimi is unlikely to play because of his recovery from an ankle injury that nearly ended his AFCON 2025 dream.
Sofyan Amrabat is also unlikely to play because of a leg injury, while a hamstring issue is expected to keep Hamza Igmane out on Sunday.
While Brahim Diaz scored the most in AFCON qualifying, the Real Madrid man does not enter the finals with any momentum, with quality game time in Madrid at a premium.
No player in the Morocco squad has netted more than Youssef En-Nesyri’s 25, and the Fenerbahce forward aims to be decisive on Sunday.
Comoros do not seem to have anyone in the infirmary, giving Cusin a healthy squad to select from at the weekend.
Even though there was a healthy spread of goals in qualifying, Youssouf M’Changama and Rafiki Said netted two each, with Said stunning Tunisia in a 1-0 success in Tunis.
It remains to be seen if veteran 36-year-old El Fardou Ben Nabouhane will lead the attack, with a slightly younger Faiz Selemani a decent to good alternative.
Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bono; Mazraoui, Aguerd, El Yamiq, Salah-Eddine; Ben Seghir, El Aynaoui, Saibari; Diaz, En-Nesyri, Ezzalzouli
Comoros possible starting lineup:
Anzimati-Aboudou; B. Youssouf, M’Dahoma, Soilihi, Toibibou, Boura; M’Changama, Z. Youssouf, Bourhane; Said, Selemani
