Soccer-Favourites Morocco make winning start at Cup of Nations

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.

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, reinforcing their status as the continent's top-ranked sides and the teams most fancied for success at the tournament in the Ivory Coast. The Democratic Republic of Congo and their southern neighbour Zambia were playing later on Wednesday in the other Group F game in San Pedro.