Morocco has a long history in the World Cup tournament despite only having qualified to 6 World Cup tournaments including this upcoming contest in Qatar. They’ve actually been trying to host a World Cup for years. They are the only country to post bids to host the World Cup for every single tournament since 1994! The bid to host the 2026 tournament was their most recent unsuccessful bid. Having lost out to the United States just like they did way back in 1994 when their quest to host a World Cup began.
Having gone through the brief lesson in World Cup history let’s get to what’s really important. The Morocco team that’s going to be competing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This team may surprise some people. It features players that play their club football in some of the world’s top leagues, and they’ve been one of the most consistent teams in that African Federation for years!
Who Are The Stars Of The Morocco Team?
Let’s start from the back to talk about one of the most recognizable faces of the Moroccan team. Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is the man who’s going to be standing between the sticks. He had a very important role in Sevilla’s last Europa League title after taking over as the starting keeper late in that COVID riddled 2020 season. From that point on he has been the starting goalkeeper for one of Spain’s most important teams.
Sofyan Amrabat is a key piece on the squad, and the leader in that midfield. At only 26 he’s had quite a career moving from Feyenoord to Club Brugge to currently playing an important role at Fiorentina. He’s going to be in charge of holding down that Moroccan midfield which is going to be key to their success or their downfall.
We couldn’t forget center forward Youssef En-Nesyri. He also plays for Spanish side Sevilla. His best season with the squad came in the 2020-2021 season where he scored 18 LaLiga goals. Since then, he’s had trouble finding his best form in front of goal. In spite of this his national team hopes that he can turn back the clock and become the player that wowed Spain.
Their Road To The World Cup
Morocco got quite the favorable draw in their road to the World Cup. They won their group which included the likes of Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sudan. Not exactly teams that are known to be overly competitive. Then in the third round they faced the Congo and dominated them to make it to the World Cup. They were able to avoid Egypt, Nigeria, and Cameroon, all of which are going to be watching the World Cup from home because they weren’t able to win their third round matchup! Although Morocco has some talent on the squad they aren’t necessarily considered a top African team.
Our Prediction
This is one of the hardest groups that Morocco could’ve hoped to be drawn in. It’s ironic because they had, had so much luck in the draws that they went through to make it to the World Cup in the first place. They’ll have no games in which they’ll potentially be favored in going up against Belgium, Croatia, and Canada. The key to their success has to be predicated on a strong midfield and decent defense. They’ve got some talent upfront that their rivals would do well not to overlook. Still, it’s hard to picture them getting out of this group. Canada is a solid squad that may struggle just because they have a lack of World Cup experience. Belgium and Croatia though seem to be the clear favorites in the group. Morocco could play them all tough though, and even if they get sent home after 3 games they can feel proud of themselves.
