Host nation Morocco take on Comoros in the opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday and the bookmakers have made it a one sided betting heat.
This is a Group A clash and these two nations will also have Mali and Zambia for company. A reminder there are 6 groups, each containing 4 teams. The top 2 in each group will go through to the knockout rounds along with the 4 best third place finishers.
Morocco
The host nation did participate in the qualifying groups for these finals and they won all 6 matches to finish ahead of Gabon, Lesotho and Central African Republic. They banged in 26 goals in those 6 matches and conceded just twice. Morocco are bidding to win the AFCON title they last claimed back in 1976.
As far as 2026 World Cup qualifying is concerned Morocco were foot perfect with 8 wins from 8 to finish well clear of Niger.
The top ranked side in Africa and 11th best on the overall Fifa rankings have included PSG’s Achraf Hakimi in a star studded squad although he will need to shake off an injury to feature.
Comoros
Comoros came through their qualifying group unbeaten with 3 wins and 3 draws to finish top of a quartet that saw Tunisia claim the runners up spot with Gambia third and Madagascar fourth. A 1-0 win in Tunisia was arguably the pick of their results whilst a 2-1 victory in Gambia was the only game where Comoros scored more than 1 goal. Defensively they kept 2 clean sheets and conceded exactly 1 goal in the other 4 qualifiers. This will be their second AFCON, the first in 2021 saw them reach the Round of 16.
Comoros bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals came up short, they won 5 and lost 5 of their group matches and finished 10 points behind Ghana who were the only side to make it through.
The Betting
In the tournament outright markets Morocco are trading as favourites to win the title at around 5/2 and Comoros are 200/1 shots
To top Group A Morocco are 4/10 and Comoros can be backed at 33/1
Morocco are 0.16/1 with the draw at 6.25/1 and Comoros are 15/1
A game of 3 goals or more is priced at around 0.62/1 and it’s 19/10 for both teams to score.
Prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but subject to change.
The Verdict
Comoros will be an unknown quantity to many of us and it will be a major surprise if Morocco don’t make a winning start.
Morocco to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is my play.
Bet: Multiple correct score, 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 11/10 with Sportingbet
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change