52 min: The noise levels back up, but are they jeers for the home team or Comoros having the ball. Morocco have looked a lot better than towards the end of the first half where they grew more listless.

50 min: After all that effort in the first half, it’s possible Comoros legs have seized up. Mazraoui seems to be finding more space. As does Diaz. Amrabat’s cross comes in, but so does a flag on the play.

48 min: Morocco look to take the free-kick quickly and at last an opening. El Aynaoui has the goal gaping but it bounces somewhere above his calf and wide. That was as close as they have come since the penalty.

47 min: Brahim Diaz, who had a mixed first half, overplays the ball and Comoros breathe once more.

My colleague, Yassin El-Moudden, is watching the match in London at the Africa Centre.

45+6 min: One last free-kick chance? Brahim Diaz and Saibari cannot get the ball past the first defender. The teams leave the field to what sounds like whistles.

45+5 min: Pandor is down, and the magic spray is out. This half will drag on for a while yet.

45+4 min: Morocco, frustrated, try to get it launched, Pandor deliberates and Diaz slides in on Soilhi’s back-pass but can only foul the keeper. He’s booked for that, too.

45+2 min: Peter Oh gets in touch: “If the Comoros goalie strays too far off his line he will surely open up a Pandor’s box.”

Said does another shuttle run and gets tackled and fouled. He’s run himself into the ground, and the Moroccan team and fans to distraction.

45 min: Said continues to be a pest to idling Moroccan defenders. There will be six added minutes. Added to that long buildup, they’ve been out there a long time.

43 min: Uh oh…there’s a VAR call. Diaz looks to have handled the ball, and the referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala, from Congo, comes over. And, for once, having been asked to look at the screen, he waves it away. Jubilation from the Comoros players.

41 min: Diaz is being closed down efficiently, the Real Madrid starlet just can’t find space. He skips on and looks for another penalty. But he had already handled himself in any case.

39 min: Mazraoui is seeing plenty of the ball, but has to cut on to his left to cross. That gives the Comoros defenders chance to clear. Youssouf M’Changama, once of Oldham, makes the clearance. He’ll be comfortable with rain.

37 min: Kari, of Comoros, is booked for his foul on Saibari, and a free-kick results. Taken short, to Aguerd by Diaz, and the West Ham legend – Conference League winner – smashes it into the skies. More waste.

36 min: Aguerd has to show off some fancy footwork to take the ball past Said, who is playing a one-man pressing game, and most impressively.

34 min: Amrabat almost gives the ball away, and he’s lucky that Youssouf was not close enough to steal in. That would alter the mood.

33 min: Said wins a foul and some vital time for Comoros. All hands to the pump, and if the plan was to frustrate the hosts, it’s working. Pandor the hero so far with that penalty save.

31 min: A frustrating opening half hour for Morocco, particularly with the loss of Roman Saiss. There’s boos from the home fans as Comoros enjoy some possession.

29 min: The corner is cleared. Really good defensive organisation from Comoros. Morocco attempt some hurry-up offense, and Saibari shoots almost on sight. It doesn’t work, either.

28 min: Salah-Eddine is fouled, to set up a free-kick chance from the left-hand side. It’s blasted right into the wall, and only a corner will result.

26 min: The deluge continues, in terms of Morocco pressure. Some fine crosses coming in, but Comoros are defending doggedly.

25 min: Sven Dobbelaere gets in touch: “Yay Afcon is back! This is the best tournament imho :).Thanks for the coverage. As a Belgian, looking dorward to seeing what Saintfiet can do with Mali (tricky group they’re in!), and wondering wtf Hugo Broos was thinking earlier, but looking forward to sering South Africa too. I hope Morocco don’t crumble under the weight of expectations. Personally, I’m rooting for Dr Congo.

So does Joe Pearson: “I hope that was an intentional reference to Bladerunner.”

Ahem.

23 min: Such talent in this Morocco team, even without Hakimi, though perhaps being the team asked to play on the front foot isn’t likely to show their best side.

21 min: That Saiss loss seems to have taken the steam from Morocco. What can Amrabat, these days of Betis, do? Mazraoui smashes in the ball, and it falls to Diaz, who cannot get over it.

19 min: Saiss goes off, and El Yamiq, once of Genoa and Valladolid, comes on. His first involvement is coming across to rob Said who was offside, though the referee kept play going for an inordinate amount of time.

16 min: Saiss plays on for now as Morocco continue to pile forward. But that’s that, he’s down again, and visibly upset. He might not be back until the very later stages. Tears in the rain from him.

14 min: Roman Saiss, once of Wolves, has gone to the floor, and that looks a hamstring pull. That long wait to kick off has taken its toll.

Lucian gets in touch: “Thanks for the coverage of tge AFCON opening ceremony & match. A slight correction, required: Akhannouch is the prime minister of Morocco, as you rightly pointed out later in the post. Have fun, wish I was there. Getting feelings of homesickness, having grown up in Rabat snd then Tangier. Greetings from cold Switzerland!”

I shall be heading there for a few days at the start of January. The weather looks unpromising.

13 min: Mazraoui commits a silly foul; Morocco probably need to calm down here.

12 min: Good goalkeeping, good psychology from Pandor. Now, can the Moroccans deal with the pressure?

8 min: Salah-Eddine, the PSV player, on loan from Roma, is on the right, and so is Mazraoui. Morocco appear to be rushing things a bit here. The crowd are most expectant.

6 min: One-way traffic appears the order of the day. Comoros will go on the counter. Selemani is fouled as he tries to make his escape. That looked a booking. Not given.

5 min: Comoros are sat deep. El Aynaoui is frustrated in his attempts to get the ball into the centre. Good control by Rahimi, but Comoros get back in numbers.

3 min: Couple of long slide tackles already. The groundsman will not be happy. Amrabat, such a hero in Qatar, and who ought to be recalled fondly at Manchester United for his performance in the 2024 FA Cup final, is in the thick of midfield.

Five of the 11 who started for Morocco in the 2022 World Cup semi take the stage, minus Hakimi, of course. Comoros seek to go as far as in 2021 when they got to the last 16. It really is raining hard.

The Crown Prince, dressed like Kendall Roy, takes the ceremonial first kick of the championships. It’s raining in Rabat.

The atmosphere in Rabat is wild, flags waving, noise aplenty. The pressure’s on. Achraf Hakimi is sat on the bench, the coolest man in the stadium. He’s not expected to play a part, he hasn’t played since coming off with a left ankle injury in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the start of last month. Surprise! Gianni Infantino is in the building, pressing flesh with Aziz Akhannouch, the president of Morocco; Gianni never leaves home without the company of a nation’s premier. Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco, is part of the delegation, too.

The teams take to the field in Rabat, the stadium looks close to full, the home fans are expectant. Can Morocco set a standard?

On the field at Rabat, at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, CAF President Dr Pratrice Motsepe has takes to declare the AFCON open. Sadly, UK coverage of the opening ceremony has been non-existent.

Achraf Hakimi, a high performer in our Top 100, is on the bench for Morocco. His coach, Walid Regragui, spoke ahead of the tourney: “We have been working for two years. It will be a big day, at home. Our objective has always been to win the AFCON and to give everything. Our supporters are with us.”

On Hakimi:“He may start, or he may not. Every match is important. We will have to manage emotions and play with confidence and humility.”

A reminder of the Afcon 2026 groups:

• Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros

• Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe

• Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania

• Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana

• Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan

• Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique

Karim gets in touch: “I am 51 and have waited all my life for Morocco to win an Afcon. Every two years I sit down to see which shambolic, hilarious and shameful way they can mess it up this time. But this time surely, this is our year. My son and I are heading to Rabat for the final, so this is going to be a stressful four weeks. Love your work John, keep it up and enjoy the game mate.”

As Jonathan Wilson says: “Perhaps attitudes are not quite as parochial as they once were, but it remains true that, in England at least, the Africa Cup of Nations is discussed less as a tournament in its own right than in terms of what it means for the Premier League.”

There will be considerable Premier League contingent in Morocco, some real key names, too.

The big stories ahead of this championship kicking off have been the controversial lack of lead time, and that the tournament will take place every four years but only after it is held in 2027 and 2028.