Morocco will try to fend off a red-hot Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates on Wednesday June 20th at 8am Eastern at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Portugal is the favorite to win this game according to the World Cup Betting odds on our site. They have a much deeper roster and the star power of Ronaldo, who single-handedly lifted Portugal to a tie in their last game against Spain with a hat trick. Morocco meanwhile is coming off a devastating loss against Iran in which an own goal in the final minutes cost them the game. If Morocco does not at least tie this game, their already slim chances of advancing to the knockout round for the first time since 1986 become even slimmer.
Morocco
This year the Atlas Lions roared through the qualifying stage as the only team in the world not to concede a goal during qualification. That defense was on display for their first game of the World Cup as well, when Morocco held Iran of the board for a full 90 minutes until an unfortunate bounce broke the stalemate.
As far as personnel, Manager Herve Renard will likely start with 4 defenders in an effort to block Portugal's attack. Nordin Amrabat, who left game one after a collision, was concussed and will not dress. Up front, Khalid Boutaïb will likely get a start. He led the team in scoring during qualifying, scoring 4 goals which tied him for second highest scorer during all CAF qualifiers. He was not on the starting roster for the game against Iran. Also, it is possible that winger Nabil Dirar, who suffered a calf injury just prior to the World Cup and did not start against Iran, will make a start on Wednesday. Juventus defender Mehdi Benatia will want to follow up his game one effort with another strong outing; against Iran completed 92 passes with an 81.5% accuracy.s
Portugal
Although they are only one game in, the buzz surrounding Portugal as a realistic candidate for World Cup champion is real. Ronaldo was as good as he could have been against a very tough team in Spain, and is now the early favorite to win the Golden Boot as MVP. Manager Fernando Santos will likely keep the same players and strategy for this match as he had against Spain. A win in this game would all but guarantee passage to the knockout round, so it is better not to mess with a winning formula.
Match Overview
This game is Portugal's to lose, but they should be very wary of the tight defense that Morocco plays. Morocco manager Herve Renard has them playing mostly in a 4-5-1 formation, which worked wonders for them defensively during qualifying. However, in the game against Iran they switched to a 4-2-3-1. Coach Renard may choose to keep that same formation, considering it worked for the most part. The biggest problem they will have vs Portugal is scoring. Boutaïb is Morocco's go-to man for goals, and anyone this side of Casablanca can tell you that Ronaldo is leaps and bounds better at that job.
