Very soon, the impressive goal of the experienced striker took on viral proportions and went around the world on social media and in the leading sports media, which moved at the same pace as "Athletic's" "command". The video of El Kambi's amazing goal quickly escaped African borders and traveled to a number of European countries, even to the US's "Bleacher Report".

At the same time, the views rained down from the football fans who enjoyed the impressive goal of the Moroccan, who had repeated a similar masterpiece with the Olympiacos jersey against OFI a few days ago at the "Georgios Karaiskakis".

The opening match of the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, organized by Morocco, ended with a 2-0 victory for the Atlas Lions over the Comoros. The match was held at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat and refereed by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala.

As for the game, the Moroccan national team started under great pressure, facing a determined Comoros defense. Just 10 minutes into the match, the Atlas Lions had a clear chance to score when they were awarded a penalty, which Soufiane Rahimi took but missed!.

The missed penalty was not the only factor that negatively affected the morale of the players and increased the pressure on them. A second major factor quickly followed: captain Saïs was injured and had to be replaced in the 19th minute by Jawad Yamiq.

Despite the Atlas Lions’ intense effort for a goal early in the first half, they failed to find the back of the net. This pressure somewhat eroded their confidence, leading to frequent misplaced passes and a decrease in their attacking performance, which was anything but promising. Even worse, the Atlas Lions committed worrying defensive errors in the final minutes of the first half, which the Comoros ended as planned: with at least a draw and without conceding a goal.

The statistics of the first half revealed that the Moroccan team completed 334 passes, while the Comoros completed only 64. However, the Atlas Lions failed to capitalize on any of these passes, proving that possession for much of the half was largely ineffective and pointless.

The Atlas Lions pinned their hopes on the second half to break the deadlock that had plagued them throughout the first. They started the second half with relentless pressure and almost scored the first goal in the 48th minute when El Ainaoui's shot narrowly missed the Comoros goal. In the 55th minute, Atlas Lions finally tied the score with a goal by Brahim Diaz, assisted by Noucer Mazraoui.

El Kaabi spoke

Late in the match, Comoros almost equalized after a disastrous mistake by Agerd, who, believing the referee would give him a foul, allowed the Comorian striker to continue playing. The Comorian striker almost scored, but goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a crucial save.

In the 64th minute, Walid Regraghi made two substitutions, bringing on Zalzouli and El Kaabi for Ouanahi and Rahimi, in an attempt to inject some much-needed energy into the Atlas Lions’ attack. In the 74th minute, El Kaabi struck again, scoring a stunning goal with his signature volley, assisted by Salah Eddine.

In the 76th minute, Regraghi made two more substitutions, bringing on El Kanous and En-Nesyri for Sebari and Ibrahim. A series of powerful attacks followed, one of which almost led to a goal for Morocco after a powerful shot by Mazraoui, but the goalkeeper made a crucial save.

During the final minutes of the match, the Atlas Lions continued their pressure in search of a third goal, but to no avail, and the match ended in a 2-0 victory for Morocco.