Morocco secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Tanzania in their Africa Cup of Nations opener, with goals from Romain Saiss, Azz-Eddine Ounahi, and Youssef En Nesyri.
Despite their total dominance, Morocco faced resistance from Tanzania until the latter was reduced to 10 men late in the second half.
The gulf in class between the two teams was evident, with Morocco boasting players like Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi and Manchester United’s Sofyan Amrabat, while Tanzania started with Tarryn Allarakhia of Wealdstone in attack.
Morocco took the lead in the 30th minute when Romain Saiss capitalized on a rebound following Aishi Manula’s save from Hakim Ziyech’s fierce free-kick.
Despite Morocco’s dominance, Tanzania managed to keep the score at 1-0 until halftime.
In the second half, Tanzania’s Novatus Miroshi received a second yellow card, reducing them to 10 men. Morocco took advantage of the numerical superiority, with Azz-Eddine Ounahi scoring the second goal after a slick one-two with substitute Amine Adli.
Youssef En Nesyri then sealed the victory by tucking in the third goal after Ounahi’s cross.