Morocco: The Ultimate 2022 FIFA World Cup Review #3
G'day tribe. Today I continue our journey of reviewing all 32 teams of the World Cup. Over 32 days I will be posting a review about every single team participating in Qatar. Below you can check out the links. Today I present Morocco. Let's take a look at how their chances are for the tournament.
Country: Morocco
Nickname: The Atlas Lions
Last World Cup Appearance: 2018 (Group Stages)
Previous World Cup Appearances: 1 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018)
World Rank: #24
Star Players: Achraf Hakimi, Youssef En-Nesyri
The giants of North Africa have a solid World Cup history and qualified for the round of 16 in 1986, the first African and Arab country to do so. An unimpressive Euro campaign by Croatia and a young Canadian team offers some hope that Morocco could sneak in and qualify for the knockout stages.
Qatar will be the first ever Arab hosted World Cup so will be preferable conditions for the Arab-Berber Moroccons. They also have the best right-back in the world, PSG's Achraf Hakimi. Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri offers a great target up front and his club teammate Bono is a strong prototypical goalkeeper who can offer Morocco so much from the back.
Watford's central midfielder Imrân Louza has Premier League experience as well as former Southampton winger Sofiane Boufal. Wolverhampton's Romain Saïss and Rennes' Nayef Aguerd offer strong centre back options to help support Hakimi at the back.
World Cup Group: Group F - Canada, Belgium, Morocco, Croatia
Prediction: This was going to be a what if World Cup for Morocco. In a very strong group, it absolutely sucked that Hakim Ziyech continued to refuse and accept Vahid Halilhodžić's invitation to play because of a falling out.
In July however he reversed his retirement from the national team which presents an opportunity for the creative Chelsea winger to contribute for the national team in his prime.
Ziyech will now assist Hakimi, En-Nesyri and Bono, but outside that there aren't any other genuine match winners in this squad. Morocco are more fortunate than African rivals Cameroon and Tunisia's World Cup group draws.
The Atlas Lions have a solid defensive line and an arid climate might suit them against opponents who will feel a world away from home. If Morocco can hold the line at the back and nab a goal, it's definitely not impossible. The more I look into them, the more I like their chances.
Creative opportunities will all come down to Ziyech but I predict they'll fall agonisingly short from progressing. They'll likely help decide either Canada or Croatia progression.
Group Stages.