First half goals from Noussair Mazraoui and Youssef En Nesyri seconded a comfortable 3-0 victory for Morocco in their 2021 Africa Cup for Nations qualifier in Burundi on Tuesday.

The victory moved the Moroccans, temporarily at least, to the top of Group E after two matches and follows a disappointing home draw with Mauritania last time out.

Burundi have now lost both their opening games and are already on the back-foot in their bid for a place at the finals in Cameroon.

Ajax defender Mazraoui broke the deadlock on 27 minutes and En Nesyri, who plies his trade in Spain with Leganes, added a second before the break.

Morocco added a third late on when Bayern Munich defender Achraf Hakimi netted in the final 10 minutes.

It will be relief for coach Vahid Halilhodžić, who has made a less than impressive start to his tenure following the resignation of predecessor Herve Renard.

Morocco now face a double-header against Central African Republic when the qualifiers resume in August-September next year, while Mauritania and Burundi clash home and away.