2022 FIFA World Cup Team Previews: Morocco

2022 FIFA World Cup Team Previews: Morocco

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is less than a month away from kicking off in Qatar. Over the next 32 days, I will be previewing each team that will be taking part in the world’s most-watched event. Check out all of the team previews that have been done so far. Up next is Morocco.

The best team in World Cup Qualifying, record-wise, was Morocco. In their six group matches, “The Atlas Lions” were perfect, winning all six matches while conceding just a single goal. After winning their qualifying group, Morocco played DR Congo and advanced to the 2022 World Cup by beating DR Congo 5-2 on aggregate. Amid World Cup qualifying, Morocco made it to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinal before losing to Egypt.

Currently ranked 22nd in the FIFA men’s rankings, Morocco will look to punch above their weight in Group F, with a legitimate chance to get out of the most even group at the 2022 World Cup.

World Cup Appearances

The 2022 World Cup will be the second straight for Morocco and this will be the second time that they have made back-to-back World Cups. The first time they went to two straight was in 1994 and 1998. This year’s World Cup will be the sixth for the nation, after an inaugural appearance in 1970.

Best Finish at a World Cup

Four of Morocco’s five previous World Cup appearances ended in the group stage with them going winless three times, including in 2018. The only time “The Atlas Lions” made it out of the group stage was in 1986. At the 1986 World Cup, Morocco shocked people by winning their group ahead of England, Poland and Portugal and advanced to the Round of 16. In the Round of 16, they played West Germany and lost 1-0 on a last-minute goal. 

Key players

The biggest name and best player on Morocco is Achraf Hakimi. With a mix of pace and technical defending, the Paris Saint-Germain stud plays a mix of right-back and right-midfield. He has missed just a single game for PSG this season and will likely be playing every minute of action for “The Atlas Lions” in Qatar. Hakimi will be lined up alongside the captain Romain Saïss in the Moroccan defense.

After retiring from the national team due to a falling out with former manager Vlahid Halilhodžić, Hakim Ziyech will be back with Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. The Chelsea forward adds a major boost to the attack of “The Atlas Lions” since he is the team’s leading scorer with 17 goals. After Ziyech, the Moroccan attack is iffy, with second-leading scorer Youssef En-Nesyri having struggled massively since being injured in 2021. Since returning from injury, En-Nesyri has scored just five times. Morocco will rely heavily on Ziyech to score goals and lead the attack with Hakimi making runs upfield from the defense.

Manager

The hiring of Walid Regragui in August 2022 was the best thing that could have happened for Morocco ahead of the 2022 World Cup. Former manager Halilhodžić was not very liked by players and the general mood has improved significantly since Regragui was hired. He is partially responsible for convincing Ziyech to rejoin “The Atlas Lions” ahead of their trip to Qatar. He has only managed two matches for Morocco, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on his style of play and understanding of his squad at the 2022 World Cup for Morocco.

Biggest Group Game – vs. Canada on Dec. 1

The last day of action in Group F should decide who goes through to the knockout stage. I believe the winner of this match between Morocco and Canada will be the second team to advance behind Belgium. The two match up very well with pace and boast two superbly talented defensemen in Alphonso Davies of Canada and Hakimi of Morocco. This should be a very quick-tempo match with few goals being scored. It will be one of the more exciting group-stage matches despite not having a big-name team.

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Prediction

This might be my bold prediction of the tournament, but I believe Morocco has what it takes to advance to the Round of 16 beating out Canada and Croatia. They will beat both Canada and Croatia to finish second in Group F. Unfortunately, this would mean they play the winner of Group E which I believe will be Spain. Despite being rather young, Spain will find a way to avoid the upset and send Morocco out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16.

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