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Morocco face Niger in a CAF World Cup qualifier that could see the Atlas Lions book an early qualification ticket.
Kick-off is at 9:30 p.m. Moroccan time (GMT) at Stade d’Honneur in Oujda and fans can catch the action live on BeIN Sports Arabic, and Arriyadia TNT.
Head coach Walid Regragui has got some serious defensive headaches. Jamal Harkass started in Morocco’s last two games, but his form at Wydad has been shaky. His errors cost the team points, leaving them trailing RS Berkane in the title race. This time, Regragui may bench him for Jaouad El Yamiq or Omar El Hilali.
But here’s the catch – Regragui refuses to experiment. In the press conference to reveal the squad list, he made it clear he won’t slot a right-back into center-back. That means both Noussair Mazraoui and El Hilali are out of the race. That leaves us with Jaouad El Yamiq. His club, Al Wehda, has the worst defense in the Saudi league, leaking 54 goals in 25 games. Not exactly confidence-boosting, is it?
On the left, Mazraoui is expected to take Adam Aznou’s spot. Aznou has barely played since moving on loan to Real Valladolid, which sits in the red zone in La Liga. Meanwhile, Mazraoui hasn’t featured as a left-back since November when Morocco pummelled 5-1 in Franceville, but Regragui trusts him.
Eliesse Ben Seghir played alongside Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Ounahi in Morocco’s last trashing win against Lesotho. But things could change. Abde Ezzalzouli is out of form at Real Betis, so Ben Seghir may shift to the left wing. That would push Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss into midfield.
Newcomers Osame Sahraoui and Chemsdine Talbi will start on the bench but will hope to impress the Oujdi fans if given minutes.
Brahim Diaz will start on the right wing but with enough freedom to roam behind the striker and create pockets of space for Achraf Hakimi to attack the box. Soufiane Rahimi has dipped in form at Al-Ain but still boasts 12 goals and five assists in 25 games this season. Regragui trusted him as a center-forward in the last game against Lesotho where he scored a brace and teed up an assist and may do so again.
Youssef En-Nesyri, on the other hand, is on goal-scoring form at Fenerbahce with 22 goals in 37 games – shutting all critics demanding to offload him to Saudi Arabia to recoup the money the club invested in him. But his coach, Jose Mourinho, has always stood by his target man and said he plays best alongside a strike partner. Could that tip the scales in favor of the budding striker Hamza Igamane?
Niger had a rocky start to their qualifiers, losing to Tanzania before bouncing back against Zambia. They also got a free win after Congo failed to show up. With six points, they are in a strong spot. In the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last November, they won 4-0 against Sudan at home and went on to beat Ghana 2-1 away.
Niger’s head-to-head statistics against Morocco aren’t on their side. They’ve faced the Atlas Lions four times and lost every single one, conceding eight goals without scoring once.
Head coach Badou Zaki, a Moroccan goalkeeping legend, faces his homeland for the first time. “It’ll feel weird hearing the Moroccan anthem and not being part of it,” he admitted in the press conference.
Predicted Lineups:
Niger: Tanja; Garba, Katakore, Sako, Alhassane; Hainikoye, Mohamed, Badamassi, Amoustapha; Sosah
Morocco: Bounou; Hakimi, Yamiq, Aguerd, Mazraoui; Amrabat, Ounahi, El Khannouss; Brahim, Rahimi, Ben Seghir.
Predicted score:
Morocco’s squad is much stronger, and Niger’s struggles in front of goal won’t help. Expect a goal galore with Morocco cruising easily past the hosts with 4-0 or 5-0 in the scoreline.
Source: Morocco word news
