Yassir Zabiri put the Atlas Lions ahead with only four minutes played after he took advantage of Morocco’s early pressure. Achraf Hakimi grabbed the second in the 27th minute.
With Morocco looking in cruising mode, they were stunned when Niger reduced the deficit courtesy of Mohamed Abdouramane in the 41st minute.
Morocco, however, ensured they took a good advantage to the half-time break when Hakimi struck again in the 45th minute, completing his brace just before the referee signalled the end of the first half.
The North Africans continued to dominate in the second half, and they were rewarded for the fourth goal through Youssef En-Nesyri in the 77th minute.
Ayoub Oufkir, who was playing his first game for Morocco, marked his debut with a superb goal in the 90th minute to complete the emphatic victory.
The win enabled Morocco to move nine points at the top of Group A from three matches, maintaining their perfect record after previously defeating Gabon 2-0 and Lesotho by the same scoreline.
Morocco will face Niger again in matchday four on Tuesday, November 17th. The fixture will be played on Moroccan soil at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, because Niger does not have a stadium approved by CAF to host international home matches.
Libya produced an impressive away performance to defeat Tunisia 2-0 and move to the top of Group H.
Ali Yousef Al Musrati opened the scoring in the fourth minute, giving the visitors an early advantage before Hamdou El Houni doubled their lead in the 62nd minute.
The result secured an important victory for Libya, who moved above their rivals in the Group H standings.
Salah leads Egypt to demolish Malawi
Egypt gave Malawi no chance, winning by a decisive and one-sided score of 5-0 at Cairo International Stadium.
The victory marked a good start for newly appointed coach Ali Maher while Mohammed Salah scored a brace that meant he moved to 70 international goals to be Egypt’s all-time top scorer, surpassing the previous record held by former captain and coach Hossam Hassan.
Nasser Maher scored his first international goal, connecting to Mohamed Hany cross from the right side to put Egypt ahead. Five minutes later, Omar Marmoush doubled Egypt’s lead.
Mohamed Hany added the third for a 3-0 lead at the half-time break. In the end, star player and captain Salah sealed the final score with a brace, first in the 84th minute, set up by Adel, and then one from the penalty spot in the closing minutes.
Egypt remained top of Group B with seven points, while Malawi stayed in third place with three points. The two sides will meet again next Tuesday in Lilongwe. Meanwhile, Angola (four points) will play against pointless South Sudan this Saturday in Luanda.
Meanwhile, Denis Bouanga recovered from an early second-half penalty disappointment to score twice, inspiring Gabon to a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Lesotho.
Gabon were awarded a penalty in the 64th minute, but Bouanga failed to convert from the spot, crashing against the woodwork to deny the hosts an immediate breakthrough.
However, the forward quickly put the disappointment behind him. Just a minute later, Guelor Kanga produced an excellent piece of attacking play to unlock the Lesotho defence, setting up Bouanga, who made no mistake with his finish to give Gabon the lead in the 65th minute.
Gabon were awarded another penalty in the 79th minute, and Bouanga stepped forward once again. This time, the forward kept his composure to send the ball into the net, completing his brace and putting the result beyond doubt.
In another fixture, Burkina Faso won 1-0 in a hard-fought match against Mauritania. Elohim Kabore scored in the 94th minute, sparking jubilation among the local fans and securing three points for his team.
In Bamako, Mali came back from behind twice to beat Rwanda 3-2 in a thrilling Group K encounter at the 26 March Stadium, while Cape Verde registered their first victory with an entertaining 4-2 win over Liberia.
Zambia were denied an important home victory after Burundi scored a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw in their Group I qualifier.
