Favourites Morocco make winning start at Cup of Nations

SAN PEDRO, Ivory Coast :Morocco underlined their status as pre-tournament favourites by beating 10-man Tanzania 3-0 to make a winning start to their Africa Cup of Nations campaign as Group F got underway at the Laurent Pokou Stadium on Wednesday.

Captain Romain Saiss scored a rare goal to put the World Cup semi-finalists ahead at halftime with Azzedine Ounahi and Youssef En-Nesyri adding two more in the space of three second-half minutes to emphasise their dominance, especially after Tanzania had Novatus Miroshi sent off after a second caution.

The convincing scoreline matched the three-goal victory for holders Senegal over the Gambia on Monday, as the continent’s top-ranked sides showed why they are the teams most fancied for success at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

Saiss reacted quickest after Hakim Ziyech’s free kick had been parried away to score his third goal in 80 caps. Goalkeeper Aishi Manula was caught out by the swerving effort, moving the wrong way before recovering to stop it with Saiss following up for a simple finish.

Morocco’s second in the 77th minute came with all the confidence and aplomb earned from their achievements over the last 14 months, including reaching the last four in Qatar and then beating Brazil in a friendly.

After a series of clever short passes to the edge of the Tanzania penalty area, Ounahi played a one-two with Amine Adli before placing the ball into the corner of the net.

Ziyech set up En-Nesyri for the third in the 80th minute but it was initially ruled offside. While the goal was checked by VAR, En-Nesyri was substituted off and seated on the bench when the decision was reversed and he was swamped by his celebrating team mates.

"It was no easy game with the heat and humidity but we