Morocco road to Russia 2018 World Cup
The new Moroccan team is without a doubt one of this year’s Cinderella stories for the upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup. After overcoming difficult odds during the preparation stages for the competition, the Renard led team achieved a flawless run that saw them rejoin the global stage, same which they had not seen since their participation in France back on 1998. Even though they've shown great improvements in both the defensive and midfield areas, their striking capabilities may prove insufficient to allow them a longer run at Russia; nonetheless, Morocco's unquenched thirst for glory could result in some surprising developments in the months to come. Check Morocco Betting Odds here.
The Lions of the Atlas, as Morocco is known in the soccer fandom circles, was subject to deep-rooted reforms crafter by new coach Herve Renard, who in previous years had taken the Ivory Coast and Zambia to conquer the African Nations Cup. French-born Renard went out of his way to secure the best possible players for his team, having gone all the way to Amsterdam to make peace with Ajax' midfielder Hakim Ziyech, whose participation in the African Cup had been snubbed without much explanation. Morocco started its qualification run with a mediocre 0-0 match before Ivory Coast, but soon after, in September of 2017 and with Ziyech back in the fold, they obtained a victory over Mali with an impressive 6 goals. An additional Mali encounter that also ended on a tie provided them just with the sufficient points to keep the race going, and a final 2-goal win to "The Elephants" a brought about their coveted entry to the Russian World Cup.
A recent friendly sting with Serbia proved successful for Morocco, as they beat the Eastern European squad 2-1, followed by a 2-nothing victory over Uzbekistan just a few days later. They will have their debut at Russia with a match against Iran on June 15th, after which they will have to concentrate their strength in order to pose any credible threat to the Spanish and Portuguese teams. The Lions are composed by a very unusual combination of Moroccan, French and Dutch nationals, which has raised some concerns about the possibility of a well-oiled team effort; however, Renard has displayed ample talent in arranging his uneven pieces for maximum outcomes.
Morocco Key Players
Additional woes have risen in the figure of team leader Karim El Ahmadi, who delivered a worthy performance during the early stages of the qualification. Having endured and over-performed during the previous stage, Ek Ahmadi now appears somewhat exhausted and may end up faltering before the big event. Aziz Bouhaddouz, Ayoub El Kaabi and top-scorer Sofiane Boufal will certainly bring some much-needed push forward for their team, while the debut of Holland's Sofyan Amrabat is a good cause for positive speculation. Morocco's ensemble is joined by defenders Mehdi Benatia and Manuel de la Costa, plus goal keepers Munir Mohamedi and Yassine Bounou. Currently ranked 40th in the FIFA rankings, the Lions appear near the end of bettor predilections, with odds that range between 250 and 500 to 1 on the World Cup betting odd lists.
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