Kiss And Tell! Morocco Players Pay Their Respect To Crown Prince Ahead Of AFCON Curtain-Raiser | Watch

Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 18:12 IST

The Crown Prince of Morocco, Moulay El Hassan, greeted the teams ahead of the start of the game and the Moroccan players demonstrated their respect with a kiss on the shoulder.

Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco talks to Morocco players before the Africa Cup of Nations. (AP,X)

Morocco opened the African Cup of Nations in splendid fashion as the Atlas Lions registered a 2-0 win over Comoros at the Stade Prince Moulhy Abdallah on Monday to get their campaign off on a positive note.

Ahead of the start of the game, the Crown Prince of Morocco, Moulay El Hassan, greeted the teams, and the Moroccan players demonstrated their respect with a kiss on the left shoulder of the royalty.

The gesture is seen as a long-standing show of respect and love in the African nationS and a display of reverence for elders, family and revered personalities.

Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Khabi netted for Regragui and Co. as the home nation kicked thing off on a positive not despite Soufiane Rahimi’s miss from the spot.

Moroccan superstar Achraf Hakimi, who was named the CAF Player of the Year, presented the accolade to adoring fans ahead of the game, but played o part in the win as he remained an unused sub in the victory.

Head coach Walid Regragui revealed that he isn’t up to take any risks with the deployment of star full-back, who returned to training with the national team just a day ahead of their opener due to the ankle sprain he had been nursing.

“We need Hakimi because he is the best player in Africa and one of the best in the world, and no team can afford to be without their best player, but Mazraoui is a fantastic player," Regragui said.

“He has different qualities to Achraf, although I think Achraf would have helped us today.

“We didn’t want to take a risk with Achraf. We are being very careful with him so we will see how he is in the next 48 hours to see if he can start against Mali.

“We are convinced he will play during the AFCON and we are waiting patiently for him," he added.

News sports football Kiss And Tell! Morocco Players Pay Their Respect To Crown Prince Ahead Of AFCON Curtain-Raiser | Watch

Read More