CANADA – MOROCCO | Thursday 4pm
On matchday two, Morocco confirmed the good things they had shown in their opener against a mid-table side like Croatia, who were stopped at 0-0. And it took the illustrious scalp of Belgium, beaten with a peremptory 2-0 that brings the Lions of the Atlas significantly closer to a historic goal. Goals from Romain Saiss and Zakaria Aboukhlal sent an entire nation into a frenzy and pushed Martinez’s selection to the brink of the precipice: Morocco will only need a draw against an eliminated Canada to qualify for the round of 16. The last time the North Africans managed it was 1986, the World Cup was being played in Mexico and Diego Maradona was leading Argentina to their second triumph.
In contrast, Belgium will be forced to get the better of the Croatians in the other match. Drawing, in fact, De Bruyne and his teammates will have to rely on an unlikely surge of pride from the Canadians, who should also win by several goals.
The goal difference currently sees Morocco ahead (+2 and -1): only a heavy defeat, in short, would break the dream of Walid Regragui’s men. On Sunday, they initially let an unsuccessful and increasingly confusing Belgium “let off steam”, only to counter-attack in the second half, finding the two decisive goals. Scoring goals against an organised team like Morocco, after all, is very complicated, as the seven consecutive clean sheets show. Overall, Canada, in its second appearance at a World Cup, also made a good impression.
The North Americans have not set foot in the finals of the World Cup since 1986 and, despite conceding two defeats in two (1-0 to Belgium and 4-1 to Croatia), they did not disappoint in terms of play, even scoring their first ever goal through Bayern Munich’s Davies. The troop, led by England’s John Herdman, faced with courage and open-mindedness two selections of undoubtedly superior calibre and with much more experience, laying the foundations for the next World Cup adventure that in 2026 they will have the privilege of hosting together with the United States and Mexico.
Canada-Morocco: the latest line-up news
Davies
Herdman, Canada’s selector, could take advantage of this to rotate a few players. Kone came on in the match against both Belgium and Croatia: he made a good impact and it cannot be ruled out that this time he will start at 1′ instead of the experienced midfielder Hutchinson. Hoilett is still in the run-off with Larin: the Reading-owned player has the advantage. The Canadian attack will again be composed of Davies, who plays in a much more advanced position compared to when he wears the Bayern Munich jersey, and David, still looking for his first goal.
Regragui, on the other hand, has two doubts, and he should re-propose the same line-up that beat Belgium. One concerns goalkeeper Bounou, who was sensationally substituted after the national anthems due to an unspecified problem; the other is linked to the presence or absence of Mazraoui, who came off injured in the match against the Red Devils.
The Prediction
Morocco have so far scored four points against the most technically gifted selections in the group and should not make a mistake against Canada, at the bottom of the group and already certain not to continue their Qatari adventure. It is therefore probable that the Moroccans will avoid defeat, seeking the success that could even mean first place. A third clean sheet in a row would not be surprising either.
Canada-Morocco’s likely line-up
- CANADA (4-4-2): St. Clair; Johnston, Steven Vitoria, Miller, Adekugbe; Buchanan, Kone, Eustaquio, Hoilett; Davies, David.
- MAROCCO (4-3-3): Bounou; Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui; Amrabat, Ounahi, Amallah; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-2
