Hakimi scores twice as Morocco’s perfect qualifying start rolls on

One of Hakimi’s goals was a shot from about 35 metres into the top corner past Mahamadou Tanja, according to Foot Mercato. It was the standout moment in a five-goal performance, though the available account leaves an important detail unresolved: which of his two goals was it?⁠1

The match at the Complexe sportif Mohammed V was Morocco’s third fixture in this qualifying campaign. The result was emphatic, but the first half contained a brief opening for Niger: having fallen two goals behind, the visitors cut the deficit to one before Hakimi restored Morocco’s cushion just before the interval.⁠4

Yassir Zabiri supplied the early breakthrough, heading in Brahim Díaz’s cross from the right toward the far post. Díaz started and played the full match, contributing the delivery that set Morocco on their way before Hakimi took over the scoring.⁠7

Hakimi made it 2-0 in the 27th minute. Mohamed Abdouramane answered for Niger in the 41st, but Hakimi’s second, in first-half stoppage time, sent Morocco into the dressing room 3-1 ahead. Youssef En-Nesyri added the fourth after the break, and Ayoub Oufkir completed the scoring late on. Morocco’s five goals were shared among four players.⁠4⁠19

That response before half-time matters more to the shape of the contest than the eventual four-goal margin might suggest. Niger had briefly brought the game back within reach. Hakimi’s second goal meant Morocco did not have to begin the second half protecting only a narrow lead.

The strongest-supported scoring account gives Hakimi a brace and Zabiri, En-Nesyri and Oufkir one goal apiece. Both the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the Moroccan National Olympic Committee credit Hakimi with two. AFP’s completed report, carried by Al Jazeera and Dawn on November 14, also records his brace and the 5-1 result. Those two newspaper accounts carry the same wire reporting, rather than providing two independent match reports.⁠14⁠4⁠2⁠3

There is a conflicting allocation in Real Madrid’s English-language recap, which credits the first-half stoppage-time goal to Zabiri instead. Its account therefore gives Zabiri two goals and Hakimi one. The club page labels the English translation as AI-generated and warns of possible inaccuracies; that label alone does not establish why the accounts differ. The federation and Olympic committee reports provide the firmer basis for crediting Hakimi with two.⁠7⁠14⁠4

The clocks differ, too. The federation lists Zabiri’s opener at three minutes, Hakimi’s second at 45, En-Nesyri’s goal at 76 and Oufkir’s at 88. The Olympic committee records those same goals at four minutes, 45 plus three, 77 and 90 respectively. These are differences between accounts of the same scoring sequence, not additional goals or a different final score. Hakimi’s first is consistently placed in the 27th minute.⁠14⁠4

None of those timestamps settles the identity of the approximately 35-metre strike. Foot Mercato describes the shot and says it gave Morocco a two-goal advantage, but does not supply its minute. Both Hakimi goals fit that description: the first made it 2-0, the second 3-1. Assigning the long-range finish to either one on that wording alone would turn an inference into a fact. The distance, likewise, is a reported approximation, not an independently measured tracking figure.⁠1⁠4

The immediate consequence is a stronger qualifying position, not a confirmed tournament berth. Morocco lead Group A with nine points after three consecutive wins. The campaign leads to the 36th Africa Cup of Nations, jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2027.⁠4

Niger are next again, four days after the Casablanca defeat. The return is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, at 20:00 local time at the Complexe sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat. It is matchday four and Niger’s designated home fixture, despite both matches in the November double-header being played in Morocco.⁠4⁠10

For Morocco, the task is to carry this perfect start into that second meeting. Casablanca delivered three more points, goals from four players and another decisive contribution from Hakimi. Rabat offers the chance to extend the run; qualification still has to be secured.