Soufiane Alloudi, coach Henri Michel and the Moroccan national team were the toast of their country and the Arab region on Tuesday after their splendid start to the CAN 2008 campaign. The Atlas Lions trounced Namibia in their opening Group A game, with Alloudi netting a hat-trick and Tarik Sektioui and Moncef Zerka on the score sheet. Man of the day: Hat-trick hero Soufiane Alloudi was the cream of the crop for Morocco, scoring three goals in less than half an hour against a lackluster Namibia. The talented striker, who plays for Al-Ain of UAE, was surprisingly included in the starting eleven by Henri Michel despite not featuring in the pre-tournament friendlies. But it seems that the French manager made the right decision as the inexperienced forward overshadowed the likes of Marouane Chamakh and Youssef Hadji. However, Alloudi was taken off the pitch in agony 30 minutes before the end after being on the receiving end of an ill-fated tackle by Namibia's Richard Gariseb. The Moroccans will be praying to have him fit soon. Goal of the day: Salomon Kalou produced a wonderful solo effort to sink Nigeria, the Chelsea winger tormented the Super Eagles defense, taking on three defenders before steering home with power. embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x44gls" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="352" allowFullScreen="true"
Moment of the day: Our man of the day Alloudi also grabbed this one with his amazing celebration. In a brand new fashion, the 24-year-old mimicked a hair gel application to celebrate each of his three goals. Disappointment of the day: The Mali-Benin game was delayed for about 15 minutes due to floodlight failure at Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium, something we rarely see in big competitions. What the Papers Said Maghreb Arabe Presse's said that "Morocco trashed Namibia 5-1 in their opening game of the 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations to show their true colors", and stated that the Moroccan team "camped in the Namibian box right after the whistle” and that the game "was was a one-way traffic." Prominent Moroccan sports daily Al-Noukhba was also full of praise for Alloudi and his teammates. On the other hand, Nigerian press was sorrowful over their team's 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast boasting a headline saying "Eagles Stumble in Sekondi" in This Day daily newspaper and "Eagles fumble again to Elephants" in the Daily Champion. Ivory Coast's celebrations were highlighted by the African Press Agency that described the atmosphere in Abidjan. "A carnival-like atmosphere on Monday engulfed Abidjan following the victory of the Ivorian team against the Super Eagles of Nigeria."
