Morocco - Comoros. Prediction and Match Preview

December 21, 2025. 21:00. Rabat. Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium

Group Stage. Group A. Round 1

Morocco - Comoros

Where to watch: MEGOGO

Injured: Hakimi, S. Amrabat, Igamnan (Morocco)

Morocco - Comoros: Betting Odds

The 35th Africa Cup of Nations will begin in Morocco on Sunday. In Rabat, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, the hosts will play against potential outsiders of Group A - Comoros. Mali and Zambia are also in the group.

Morocco

Morocco have established themselves as one of Africa's best teams in recent years. This rise is largely due to the fact that the Atlas Lions became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup. In qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Morocco confidently secured their place, winning eight of their eight matches, scoring 22 goals and conceding just two. So Walid Regrahi's team are determined to prove that their semi-final appearance last time out was no fluke.

This home Africa Cup of Nations will be a key step in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup. Here, the Atlas Lions will be looking to finally end their disappointing run at the tournament. Morocco have only won the continental title once, back in 1976. Most of their successful campaigns came in the 1980s, reaching the semi-finals in 1986 and 1988 (as hosts in the latter), and also winning bronze in 1980. They have only reached the final once since then, in 2004, losing to regional neighbours Tunisia. Since then, Morocco's best performances have been reaching the quarter-finals in 2017 and 2021. In the other six tournaments, they have been eliminated in the group stage four times and in the round of 16 twice. This was also the case at the last Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost to South Africa.

Incredibly, Morocco have not lost a single competitive match since their defeat in January 2024. Their record in 2025 is impressive: just one draw and 15 wins. Most impressively, 12 of those wins came without conceding a goal. Interestingly, Morocco faced Comoros in December during the group stage of the Arab Cup and won 3-1, albeit with a different squad. Morocco will therefore be hopeful of a strong start to their home tournament, avoiding becoming the first host since 1998 to lose their first match. A victory would be the 20th victory for the hosts in such matches at AFCON.

Comoros

The Comoros national team has long been on the sidelines of major tournaments, having only started participating in AFCON qualifiers since 2010. After a series of setbacks, they made a historic breakthrough in 2021, qualifying for the finals. The Coelacanths not only reached Cameroon, but also impressed by reaching the last 16. They only managed one win, but it was a memorable one - a 3-2 win over Ghana in their final group game. Having missed their next match, Comoros return to Africa's footballing feast in 2025.

Their progress is evident in a solid qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup. Stefano Cucina's team finished fourth in their group, behind winners Ghana, Madagascar and Mali, but five wins from ten matches is their best ever World Cup qualification result. They even beat Ghana again, who will be at the 2026 World Cup. In the 2025 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Coelacanths topped their group ahead of Tunisia, a team that also qualified for the World Cup. Cousin's team is unbeaten in six games, earning four points against their North African opponents, including an away win.

Despite their lowly 108th place in the FIFA rankings, Comoros have shown they can cause problems for the favorites. Riding on the wave of success in domestic football, Cousin's team will be looking for another surprise. Their best result against Morocco so far was a 2-2 draw in the 2019 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Morocco vs Comoros: Predicted Lineups

Morocco have fielded a strong squad for the tournament, but not all key players are available. Hakimi, Sofiane Amrabat and Ihamnan are out through injury. Comoros, on the other hand, are approaching the match without any personnel problems.

Possible starting lineup for Morocco:

Bounou; Mazraoui, Agerd, El-Yamik, Salah-Eddine; Ben Seghir, El-Azzouzi, Saibari; Dias, En-Nesiri, Ez-Abde

Possible starting lineup for Comoros:

Anzimati-Aboudou; B. Youssef, M'Dahoma, Soili, Toibibu, Boura; M'Changama, Z. Youssef, Burhan; ​​Said, Selemani

Morocco - Comoros: Author's Prediction

Despite the absence of several key players, Morocco's lineup is balanced enough to start the home tournament with a convincing victory. I expect the hosts to win by at least two goals, while Comoros will likely start the competition without scoring a goal.