Boufal twirling, Moroccan clumsiness

TOPS

Sofiane Boufal, the blaster
«For me, a striker who has no statistics cannot play at the top level.This week, Vahid Halilhodzic pinpointed the lack of performance of Sofiane Boufal. But the Moroccan winger made his coach lie this Friday. Without being decisive, the former Lille player was the most dangerous player on his team, by far, during the victory against the Comoros (2-0). Caught by two or even three defenders on each ball shot, the playmaker very often got away with it. He even showed the muscles (48th) in a duel on the shoulder, a rare thing for him. It was he who created a good number of gaps, some of which would have deserved to finish in assists (57th, 59th, 72nd). His corners, very well taken, allowed Nayef Aguerd to catapult a header on the bar (37th). He could and even should have scored but a great Ben Boina prevented him (74th).

Ben Boina, sometimes disturbing hero
If he saved his team several times, Salim Ben Boina also worried them several times. The Comoros goalkeeper did not make the most academic outings. Three times, he launched directly into the feet of Boufal (13th, 20th, 72nd), who could have punished him more accurately. He still delayed the deadline by releasing several contortionist parades. The one who was elected man of the match above all achieved an epic end to the match. At 1-0, he made a reflex save in front of Aguerd (78th). Then, he concedes a penalty on a bad outing at the feet of Aboukhlal but stops En-Nesyri’s conversion attempt (83rd). The next action, he comes out perfectly at the feet of the Sevillian striker (85th) but finally cracks in the 89th minute, unable to do anything against the Moroccan surge and the cross shot from Abdoukhlal.

Flops

The chronic inefficiency of Moroccan scorers
Until the 89th minute, the Atlas Lions were only one goal ahead, despite an incredible number of chances. El Kaabi was very clumsy, missing the boat several times (16th, 57th, 59th, 63rd) when he had opportunities that were easy to negotiate. The entry into play of Youssef En-Nesyri did not improve things. With a missed penalty (83rd) and a badly negotiated face-to-face (85^e), the darling of Seville did not fill up with confidence. It has been more than a year and a half since the center-forward has not scored a single goal in the national team. A bad omen before the rest of the competition?

Comorians overwhelmed after the goal
After a quarter of an hour of play, one could think that the Comoros could compete with the Lions of the Atlas. Physical, compact and carried forward, Amir Abdou’s men showed an attractive face. But after the goal of Selim Amallah (16th), their offensive ambitions flew away. For the remaining 75 minutes, the Comorians just suffered. Only a few set pieces, well struck by a combative Selemani, gave some chills to the Moroccan defense, which spent a very quiet afternoon.