Ayoub El Kaabi scores an incredible goal for Morocco
“Hosts Morocco began their pursuit of a first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title since 1976 with victory over minnows Comoros in Rabat. Morocco broke new ground in 2022 when they became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, but they have reached the AFCON final only once since winning it 49 years ago. With this tournament being played on home soil, they are among the favourites to lift the trophy when the final takes place on January 18, but they were made to work hard by opponents ranked 108th in the world. Morocco had an early chance to take the lead when Brahim Diaz was fouled by Iyad Mohamed, only for Soufiane Rahimi’s penalty to be saved by Yannick Pandor. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

“There is something stubbornly anachronistic about the pitch. A rectangle of grass, marked out with chalk or paint, governed by rules that are simple enough to learn when you’re young and serious enough to demand a lifetime’s attention. As the old saying goes, ‘of all unimportant things, football is the most important.’ Time on the pitch is not optimized or personalized, but is shared. Ninety minutes pass whether you are ready or not, and nothing can be paused, rewound, or skipped. Bodies gather, not to curate an experience, but to submit to one whose outcome cannot be known in advance. For all its compromises, football remains one of the few mass rituals left in public life that still insists on collective presence—on being there, together, in the same place, at the same time. …”
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