He has decided to leave his mark on this 2025 African Cup of Nations. After scoring what seemed to be the goal of the competition with a nice return against the Comoros for the opening match, Ayoub El Kaabi did even better to send his team into the round of 16 against Zambia.
Already the author of the opener with a beautiful diving header after nine minutes, the Olympiakos striker performed a new, very classy acrobatic gesture. On a cross from Azzedine Ounahi, who was already the decisive passer on the first goal, Ayoub El Kaabi stands out alone at the penalty point and rises to take the ball with his left foot.
The assistant referee then raises his flag to signal offside before being ruled out by the video assistance, which awards the goal after a few minutes of hesitation and capsizes the spectators at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat (51st).
“He’s really a killer in front of the posts, I see him as a sort of Robert Lewandowski,” his former teammate at RS Berkane, Issoufou Dayo, (2017-2018) explained to L’Équipe a few years ago. He is mobile and capable of scoring very spectacular goals. But what I especially noticed was his relaxation in the last gesture. He doesn’t panic. »
Presented as the greatest bicycle specialist in African football, the player trained at Racing Casablanca became the top scorer in the African Cup of Nations, with Riyad Mahrez and his teammate Brahim Diaz (3 goals).