Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Review: Morocco off to winning start, Tunisia smash eight

Omar El Kaddouri fired the only goal of the game as Morocco made a winning start to Africa Cup of Nations qualifying with a 1-0 victory over Libya in Group F.

Badou Ezzaki’s side were initially banned from qualifying by the Confederation of African Football having withdrawn from hosting the 2015 tournament, however the sanction was lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April.

And they wasted no time in getting their campaign off to a positive start as El Kaddouri fired home the winning goal early in the second half.

His 51st-minute strike was enough to seal all three points against their north African counterparts and give them an early advantage in the group.

While there was only one goal in Agadir, there was a glut in Rades as Tunisia cashed in on some questionable Djibouti defending to run out 8-1 winners.

Yassine Chikhaoui struck a first-half hat-trick to set Tunisia on their way, the FC Zurich forward opening with a ninth-minute penalty before two in as many minutes to make it 3-0 in the 23rd minute.

Ferjani Sassi, Saber Khalifa, Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, Maher Hannachi and Yoann Touzghar all got in on the act before the final whistle as Georges Leekens’ side made an emphatic start to Group A.

Meanwhile, in Group L’s opening match there was a big triumph for Swaziland, the minnows securing a 2-1 victory against Guinea in Casablanca thanks to a Tony Tsabedze double.