Morocco World Cup 2018 team guide: tactics, key players and expert predictions
Hervé Renard has instilled a fighting spirit and solidity in Morocco to end the country’s lengthy World Cup absence
This article is part of the Guardian’s 2018 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who have qualified for Russia. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 14 June.
The Atlas Lions are back at the World Cup after a 20-year absence and their tactical solidity and the tenacity instilled by Hervé Renard can make them difficult opponents
Twenty years and four World Cups have almost erased Morocco from the global football chessboard. Two decades of frustration made fans almost renounce their right to see the national team play at the highest level of international competition.
But the arrival of the former Cambridge United manager Renard at the start of 2016 changed everything. The Frenchman brought a fighting spirit: most of the players had been around many years, but Renard added his touch of salt. First, he made Mbark Boussoufa step back from his attacking duties. Along with Karim El Ahmadi, the experience in midfield is consolidated by Younès Belhanda who completes a triangle when the team lose possession.
The other main change brought by Renard involves the role of Romain Saïss, who became a central defender, switching from his box-to-box natural habitat. This has made the team stronger in the air. After Hamza Mendyl’s injury Renard made another transformation, using Real Madrid’s Achraf Hakimi as a left-back, a role he had never played.
Achraf is a more technical player and has a fine rapport with the real playmaker of the team, Hakim Ziyech. The Ajax man usually starts on the left, before taking over the central midfield and sometimes swaps positions with Nordin Amrabat, the team’s raging bull.
Up front Khalid Boutaïb plays a role of the traffic control tower and is a sharp finisher. Beyond the starting XI, players coming off the bench include Fayçal Fajr. “Fayçal is somebody who is essential to this group,” said Renard in March. “He’s capable of playing in the midfield five positions and helps me manage the ones that are not happy staying on the bench.”
Renard is likely to renew his faith in a 4-2-3-1 formation, switching from 4-4-2 in defensive phases to 4-3-3 in attack.
Probable starting XI
Which player is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?
Undoubtedly Hakim Ziyech. The playmaker is the most talented player in the squad and helped Ajax reach the Europa League final in 2017.
Which player is likely to disappoint?
The goalkeeper Munir has got the group’s confidence but hardly played this year with the Spanish second-tier side Numancia. He struggled when coming for the ball in the friendly against Serbia in March.
What is the realistic aim for Morocco at the World Cup 2018 and why?
Despite conceding only one goal in qualifying, Morocco will struggle extend their defensive streak. Everything depends on the first game, against Iran. They need to win, before facing Portugal and Spain, to have a chance of a place in the last 16, which could be the realistic aim.
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