Boufal's 82^nd-minute goal handed his side an important victory in Group C at Yaoundé's Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo on a day where all four matches finished 1-0.

The Angers winger lashed the ball into the back of the net in a rare moment of quality in what was an otherwise uneventful game.

Morocco were good value for their win, controlling 61 per cent of the possession and recording 12 shots to five.

In the other Group C match, Gabon beat Comoros even without the help of star man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

It was a first-half finish from attacking midfielder Aaron Boupendza that separated the two sides.

Island nation and debutants Comoros qualified ahead of Kenya and Togo and dominated proceedings at the same venue in the Cameroonian capital before Gabon's opener.

From that moment on the game never looked like getting away from Gabon.

Aubameyang and Mario Lemina were absent with COVID-19.

Sadio Mané scored a penalty after more than 96 minutes for Senegal against Zimbabwe to secure a 1-0 victory with what is the latest winning goal in normal time at the Africa Cup of Nations in a decade.

Senegal were lucky to come away with the spoils in Group B as, despite being one of the tournament favourites, they delivered an underwhelming performance against a side ranked 101 places below them.

However, Africa's highest-ranked nation were without several key players, including captain Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, because of another coronavirus outbreak.

This meant that they were only able to name 17 players out of a squad of 28 in Bafoussam's Kouekong Stadium.

In the other Group B encounter, at the same venue, Guinea opened their account with a 1-0 win against Malawi.

The only goal came from left-back Issiaga Sylla who slotted home to capitalise on José Kanté's impressive hold-up play.

The action continues tomorrow as Nigeria face Egypt in a heavyweight clash in Group D while Sudan and Guinea-Bissau also meet and Algeria play Sierra Leone's in Group E.