With the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicking off in one week (!!!), it’s time to explore one of Group F’s quietest challengers – Morocco.
Every day until November 20th, we’ll explore a different team represented in this year’s tournament, from Group A to Group H, including predictions about where they’ll end up.
Earlier today, we looked at Canada, a CONCACAF challenger entering only their second World Cup. We’ll now look at North Africa’s Atlas Lions of Morocco.
Morocco
Group F
Nickname: The Atlas Lions
Colors: Red, green, white
Location:
Coach: Walid Regragui (Morocco)
Top Players:
Morocco is well-represented at the top levels of club football. Sevilla’s Bono holds down the goal, defended by PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and Bayern’s Noussair Mazraoui. In the middle, they’ve got Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina, and up top Hakim Ziyech of Chelsea and Youssef En-Nesyri of Sevilla lead the Lions’ attack.
Team History:
Qatar will be the sixth World Cup appearance for Morocco, whose best result came in 1986 when they lost in the round of 16 to West Germany, a country that now only exists as a place. Morocco won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2020. The Atlas Lions are 7-3-2 in 2022, with a win over Ghana and a loss to the USMNT.
Tournament Prediction: Group stage exit.
Morocco’s 2022 record looks pretty good until you consider that most of their wins are against opponents who didn’t qualify for the World Cup. Morocco’s recent record against quality teams like Egypt and the USMNT (two losses) suggests the Moroccans might not be ready for top-level teams like Group F favorites Belgium. We think Morocco will be competitive every game while failing to win a single match, possibly pulling an upset tie against Canada or Croatia. Either way, we think The Atlas Lions fly home early after finishing the group stages with between 1-2 points.
Featured Image: Generated Image: DALL-E 2/DM
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